Anne hathaway apologizes to disabled children for her ‘the witches’ character

In “The Witches,” Anne Hathway’s character, the Grand High Witch, has three fingers on each hand. The witch ringleader and her cronies, who hunt down children and turn them into mice, also

have no toes. Disability advocates have criticized the HBO Max film for portraying those with limb differences as monsters, using the hashtag #NotaWitch to share photos showing their own

limb differences. Two weeks after the film’s release, Hathaway has apologized. The actress, 37, who grew up in Millburn, responded to the criticism by sharing a video on Instagram from the

Lucky Fin Project. The nonprofit organization works to spread awareness of limb differences and celebrate children and families affected by those differences. “I have recently learned that

many people with limb differences, especially children, are in pain because of the portrayal of the Grand High Witch in The Witches,” Hathaway said in her post. “Let me begin by saying I do

my best to be sensitive to the feelings and experiences of others not out of some scrambling PC fear, but because not hurting others seems like a basic level of decency we should all be

striving for.” The HBO Max movie is the latest adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1983 children’s novel. London author Jen Campbell was among those who spoke out against the film, which portrays the

witches as having ectrodactyly, meaning a hand that has four or less fingers as opposed to five, with digits missing in the central part of the hand (or foot). “In the book, the witches

have no toes so they have square feet, they have claw-like hands, and they have no hair," she said in an Instagram post. “It’s strange reading books as a child where the villains have

disfigurements, a lazy marker to show the audience these people are evil. You can both love the story and see yourself as the villain. And I absolutely saw myself as the villain. In this new

version, they’ve taken it a few steps further, the witches have facial scars and (I discovered today) they actually have Ectrodactyly.” In Dahl’s book, the witches conceal their hands with

gloves and hide the other parts of their appearance — including their lack of hair and toes — with wigs and shoes. “Real witches dress in ordinary clothes, and look very much like ordinary

women," he writes. "They live in ordinary houses, and they work in ordinary jobs. That is why they are so hard to catch.” “Given I now also have alopecia, I don’t think I’ve ever

been more witch-like,” Campbell continued. "And as much as I think witches (in other contexts) are pretty badass, I am so exhausted with this representation. I am tired. I am sad. I am

extremely glad that I no longer work in a bookshop as (if we lived in non-COVID times), the coming months would be especially hellish. I feel for kids everywhere with visual differences who

are going to have this film (and others like it) thrust in their faces. “Enough is enough,” she said. “When you see damaging tropes like this, please challenge them. Have conversations with

your friends. Help us do the work.” Variety previously reported that Warner Bros., the studio that made the film, also apologized for the portrayal. “In adapting the original story, we

worked with designers and artists to come up with a new interpretation of the cat-like claws that are described in the book,” the studio said in a statement. “It was never the intention for

viewers to feel that the fantastical, non-human creatures were meant to represent them. This film is about the power of kindness and friendship. It is our hope that families and children can

enjoy the film and embrace this empowering, love-filled theme.” The movie also stars Octavia Spencer, Jahzir Kadeem Bruno, Stanley Tucci and Kristin Chenoweth, with narration from Chris

Rock. Hathaway is the second actress to play the Grand High Witch after Anjelica Huston in the 1990 film “The Witches." In that movie, the witches concealed their bald heads with wigs

and facial features with “human” masks. They had no toes, but they did not have ectrodactyly. Hathaway apologized for her lack of awareness about limb differences in particular. “As someone

who really believes in inclusivity and really, really detests cruelty, I owe you all an apology for the pain caused," Hathaway continued. "I am sorry. I did not connect limb

difference with the GHW when the look of the character was brought to me; if I had, I assure you this never would have happened.” “I particularly want to say I’m sorry to kids with limb

differences: now that I know better I promise I’ll do better,” she said. “And I owe a special apology to everyone who loves you as fiercely as I love my own kids: I’m sorry I let your family

down. If you aren’t already familiar, please check out the @Lucky_Fin_Project (video above) and the #NotAWitch hashtag to get a more inclusive and necessary perspective on limb difference.”

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