‘SNL’ weigh in on JK Rowling controversy with Dobby sketch: “They K Rowling”
Saturday Night Live has humorously weighed in on the ongoing controversy surrounding JK Rowling, the Harry Potter author who notoriously uses her money and fame to fight against transgender rights.
Rowling made the news recently, after the original Hermione actor, Emma Watson, deemed her “ignorant of how ignorant she is”. Rowling infuriated fans and stars alike after celebrating a recent Supreme Court ruling that deemed only biological females can be considered women.
SNL were not afraid to shy away from her critique of transgender rights, and performed a sketch that included Harry Potter character, Dobby the house elf, who spoke on the ‘Weekend Update with Michael Che’ segment.
Dobby appeared nervous, joking, “Scared? Why would Dobby be scared, sir? Dobby is just about to publicly weigh in on trans people, that’s all.” He soon revealed that he must speak up as his “master sent Dobby to go on the telly and define once and for all what a woman is.”
When Dobby accidentally reveals that his master is J.K. Rowling, he begins beating his head on the desk. In a twist similar to his character in the Harry Potter franchise, he expresses that he must punish himself, as he was not supposed to reveal this information.
“Master has done so much for Dobby, and for inclusion in general. Remember when Dumbledore was gay after the books came out? And when Hermione was black only on Broadway?”
He added, “The point is, women have baginas [s] and women’s bathrooms are for women only, and girls, and ghosts of girls.”
During the scene, Dobby explores a conceit which posits that house elves are “somehow always the problem, even though we are only one percent of the population. But house elves aren’t the victims, Master Rowling is!” He shared, linking transphobia to Dobby’s tragic storyline. He continued, “She gets so much hate mail.”
Dobby then pulled out one example of hate mail she received, a T-shirt that read “They K. Rowling.” One of the anchors noted that Dobby is now free, as his master has given him a shirt to keep.
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