‘The Witches’ Studio Regrets Hurting Disabled Community With Anne Hathaway’s Character

Warner Bros has issued an apology following the release of their new movie “The Witches,” starring Anne Hathaway, after it was deemed offensive by members of the differently-abled community.

In the film, the 37-year-old Oscar winner plays the Grand High Witch, who is the leader of all of the witches in the world. However, the character has hands appear to resemble the limb abnormality ectrodactyly, also known as “split hand.”

Following tweets of backlash from members of the disabled community, a spokesperson for Warner Bros stated the studio was “deeply saddened to learn that our depiction of the fictional characters in ‘The Witches’ could upset people with disabilities and regret any offense caused,” Variety reports.

“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 statement reads.

“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.”

Warner Bros’ apology comes after British Paralympic swimmer Amy Marren criticized the studio for intentionally portraying limb differences as something that is scary and should be feared.

“@WarnerBrosUK was there much thought given as to how this representation of limb differences would affect the limb difference community?!” Marren wrote.

On Instagram, disability advocate Shannon Crossland accused the studio of straying from Ronald Dahl’s original story in his 1983 book “The Witches” and creating a negative message.

“Is this the kind of message we want the next generation to receive? That having three fingers is a witch’s attribute? It is an extremely damaging portrayal. Disability should NOT be associated with evil, abnormality, disgust, fear, or monsters,” she stated.

She still isn't thrilled with the WB's apology. "Although I am pleased @wbpictures have at the very least acknowledged the outcry and #notawitch movement, I don’t believe this is a sincere apology. It has got A LOT of people talking and I’ve seen a lot of articles surrounding the subject which is great for raising awareness," she responded Wednesday.

“The Witches” was released on HBO Max on Oct. 22.