Writer J.K. Rowling has been making a lot of headlines in the last few years due to her controversial views and statements.
Her views on gender have now made it to SNL, with the cast concocting a sketch that pokes fun at her.
Keep reading to know more.
Saturday Night Live or SNL as it is widely known, is a beloved weekly comedy show that airs in America. Recently, the show featured a sketch which poked fun at J.K. Rowling, the author behind the Harry Potter series.
The sketch focused on her views on gender, which she has not been shy about. The author devotes considerable time to explaining her views, which are perceived as anti-trans by some.
One of the individuals who was vocal in opposition to the author and her views was Emma Watson, the actress who portrayed Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movie franchise.
This resulted in Rowling calling Watson ‘ignorant’ and lashing out at the actress about how Watson had, over the years, commented on Rowling’s beliefs, which the latter thought was unnecessary.
“They think our former professional association gives them a particular right–nay, obligation–to critique me and my views in public,” she wrote in a statement.
“Years after they (Watson and Daniel Radcliffe) finished acting in Potter, they continue to assume the role of de facto spokespeople for the world I created,” the 60-year-old wrote in her rant.
She talked about how she met the two when they were young children and hence felt protective of them. Saying, “When you’ve known people since they were ten years old it’s hard to shake a certain protectiveness.”
“Until quite recently, I hadn’t managed to throw off the memory of children who needed to be gently coaxed through their dialogue in a big scary film studio,” Rowling said.
“Emma has so little experience of real life she’s ignorant of how ignorant she is,” she plainly stated.
The reason for Rowling’s rant against the two actors she had once been close to was because of their statements and criticism of the author’s views on gender.
SNL decided to make light of the situation in its signature style. Comedian Bowen Yang dressed up as Dobby the house elf, a character in the Harry Potter series. He says in the skit that his master, J.K. Rowling, has sent him to discuss who a woman is “for once and for all.”
“Master Rowling has done so much for Dobby and for inclusion in general,” says the character.
“Remember when Dumbledore was gay after the books came out, and when Hermione was Black only on Broadway! And when Cho Chang was… was Cho Chang Asian? Dobby can’t remember if the character named ‘Cho Chang’ was Asian or not,” the monologue went on too much laughter.
The character then approaches a camera and mimes banging his head against it repeatedly, which prompts host Michael Che to ask him, “Dobby, why do you keep hurting yourself?”
“Why? Dobby doesn’t know,” is the reply.
“Perhaps because house elves are somehow always the problem, even though we’re only 1% of the population, house elves aren’t the victims. Master Rowling is. She gets so much hate mail.” This was of course, in direct reply to the post Rowling had recently written against Emma Watson, referring to a time in her life when she felt unsafe and all Watson sent her way was a note which read, “I’m so sorry for what you’re going through.” Rowling did not appreciate the gesture as she said Watson had her number.
“This was back when [a variety of] threats against me were at their peak, at a time when my personal security measures had to be tightened considerably and I was constantly worried for my family’s safety,” she had written.
The entire sketch was considered hilarious by a lot of netizens. One person posted, “why is bowen yang the funniest human ever dobby on snl!” But some were not as enthused. One person wrote on X, “Bowen clearly has beef with JK. Of course he doesn’t land any substantial arguments.”
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