Warner Bros apologizes to fans after ‘The Witches’ incurs pushback

Warner Bros has recently been forced to come out with an apology that highlights their “tone-deaf” representation of abnormal hands.

The push back has mainly come from the disabled community, as many fear portraying a witch as a three-clawed creature of hate might carry onto the real world and a young child might get discriminated against in case they are differently-abled.

For the unversed, the issue began after Anna Hathaway was showcased as a three-clawed witch with a taste for getting rid of children.

The abnormal anatomy of the witches in general, coupled with their unintentional representation of a genetic defect, called ectrodactyly or ‘split hand,’ has rubbed a number of people the wrong way.

British Paralympic swimmer Amy Marren also weighed in on the graphics choice and called out the studio for such a 'demeaning' portrayal.

Through her tweet, Marren addressed the production house, and claimed, “@WarnerBrosUK was there much thought given as to how this representation of limb differences would effect the limb difference community?! @ReachCharity @RoaldFull”

Others also pushed back against the trailer release, including disability advocate Shannon Crossland who believes, “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.”

Shortly after the Twitter storm ensued, a spokesperson from the production house came forward to Deadline and apologized for their actions.

They were quoted telling the publication that the company was “deeply saddened to learn that our depiction of the fictional characters in The Witches could upset people with disabilities.” They also pointed out that they “regretted any offense caused” by their actions.

“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 spokesperson added. “It was never the intention for viewers to feel that the fantastical, non-human creatures were meant to represent them.”