{"id":2070663,"date":"2025-10-05T17:46:55","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T17:46:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2070663"},"modified":"2025-10-05T17:46:55","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T17:46:55","slug":"snls-bowen-yang-takes-on-j-k-rowlings-anti-trans-remarks-as-dobby-the-house-elf-and-loses-his-shirt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/snls-bowen-yang-takes-on-j-k-rowlings-anti-trans-remarks-as-dobby-the-house-elf-and-loses-his-shirt\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cSNL\u201d&#8217;s Bowen Yang takes on J.K. Rowling&#8217;s anti-trans remarks as Dobby the house elf \u2014 and loses his shirt"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/saturday-night-live\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Saturday Night Live;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>Saturday Night Live<\/em><\/a> recruited the perfect guest to address the latest drama surrounding <em>Harry Potter <\/em>author <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/person\/j-k-rowling\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:J.K Rowling;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">J.K Rowling<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">During the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/snl-recap-bad-bunny-hosts-season-51-premiere-11823657\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:season 51 premiere;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">season 51 premiere<\/a>, &#8220;Weekend Update&#8221; brought out Dobby the House Elf \u2014 <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/person\/bowen-yang\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Bowen Yang;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">Bowen Yang<\/a> in terrifying prosthetics \u2014 to speak about Rowling&#8217;s anti-trans views amid <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/j-k-rowling-and-emma-watson-feud-explained-11821533\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:her reignited feud with the franchise's star Emma Watson;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">her reignited feud with the franchise&#8217;s star Emma Watson<\/a>. Shaking in his seat, Dobby initially hesitated to comment on the subject, but then segment anchor <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/person\/michael-che\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Michael Che;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Michael Che<\/a> offered him some encouragement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;You don&#8217;t have to be scared,&#8221; Che told the elf.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Scared? Why would Dobby be scared, sir? Dobby\u2019s just about to publicly weigh in on trans people, that&#8217;s all,&#8221; Yang&#8217;s Dobby began. &#8220;Master sent Dobby to go on the telly and define, once and for all, what a woman is, sir!&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div style=\"max-height:none;overflow:visible\">\n<p>Will Heath\/NBC<\/p>\n<p> Bowen Yang as Dobby the House Elf on &#8216;Weekend Update&#8217;<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">After accidentally revealing Rowling as his master, Yang&#8217;s Dobby exclaimed, &#8220;Oh, no, Dobby wasn&#8217;t supposed to say!&#8221; Banging his head on the desk, he cried, &#8220;Bad Dobby, bad Dobby, bad Dobby.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Around this point, Dobby&#8217;s pillowcase tunic began to slip off his shoulders \u2014 but Yang took the wardrobe malfunction in stride.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Oh, Dobby\u2019s come undone,&#8221; Yang said, holding up the straps of the garment. &#8220;I&#8217;m sorry! My fatigues are not well-made!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Continuing the bit, Yang&#8217;s Dobby made his best effort to defend Rowling&#8217;s <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/books\/j-k-rowling-would-do-prison-time-for-transgender-views\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:anti-trans stance;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">anti-trans stance<\/a>, arguing, &#8220;Master Rowling has done so much for Dobby and for inclusion in general. Remember when <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/movies\/2019\/03\/19\/harry-potter-fantastic-beasts-jk-rowling-dumbledore-sexuality\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Dumbledore was gay,;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Dumbledore was gay,<\/a> <em>after<\/em> the books came out? And when Hermione was Black, <em>only<\/em> on Broadway? And when Cho Chang was\u2026&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Trailing off, Dobby said, &#8220;Hmm\u2026 was Cho Chang Asian? Dobby can&#8217;t remember if <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/movies\/harry-potter-katie-leung-told-deny-racist-attacks\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:the character Cho Chang;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">the character Cho Chang<\/a> was Asian.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">After another slipup, Dobby leapt from behind the &#8220;<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/weekend-update\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Weekend Update;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Weekend Update<\/a>&#8221; table to bang his head against the camera, prompting Che to ask why the elf felt the need to self-punish.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"NBC Bowen Yang holds up his drab tunic as Dobby the House Elf on 'Weekend Update' with Michael Che and Colin Jost\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/zfIDfEiG5ZIh35YNultvbA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MTtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/entertainment_weekly_785\/e6c3c837dadae493eadc8e5f4443a3f8\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div style=\"max-height:none;overflow:visible\">\n<p>NBC<\/p>\n<p> Bowen Yang holds up his drab tunic as Dobby the House Elf on &#8216;Weekend Update&#8217; with Michael Che and Colin Jost<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Why? Dobby doesn&#8217;t know. Perhaps because house elves are somehow always the problem, even though we&#8217;re only 1 percent of the population,&#8221; he said, lampshading the trans community getting scapegoated by rhetoric tied to the TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminists) movement. &#8220;But house elves aren&#8217;t the victims. Master Rowling is! She gets so much hate mail.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Dobby then whipped out a shirt that read &#8220;They K. Rowling,&#8221; showing it off as an example of the hate Rowling receives. When co-anchor <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/person\/colin-jost\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Colin Jost;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Colin Jost <\/a>pointed out that, per the book&#8217;s lore, the clothing items mean Dobby is now free, the house elf jumped for joy \u2014 while Yang desperately clung to the fabric at his shoulders to keep it from sliding entirely off.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong><em>Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/ew-dispatch-newsletter-11812417\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:EW Dispatch newsletter;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">EW Dispatch newsletter<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">When the sketch came to an end, Jost and Che immediately began joking about Yang&#8217;s wardrobe malfunction.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;We&#8217;ve seen it all,&#8221; Jost quipped. &#8220;We&#8217;re seeing it all.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Yang then dropped the strap and struck a pose, embracing the mishap before exiting the stage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The latest dig at Rowling comes after she made headlines for <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/j-k-rowling-slams-emma-watson-comments-on-rift-over-anti-trans-beliefs-11820401\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:slamming Watson;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">slamming Watson<\/a>, who refused to defend the author&#8217;s view on trans rights but also stated that <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/emma-watson-jk-rowling-relationship-anti-trans-beliefs-11816363\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:she still treasures her experience;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">she still treasures her experience <\/a>working alongside Rowling during her <em>Harry Potter <\/em>days.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Like other people who&#8217;ve never experienced adult life uncushioned by wealth and fame, Emma has so little experience of real life she&#8217;s ignorant of how ignorant she is,&#8221; Rowling wrote in a scathing post on X.\u00a0&#8220;Emma is rightly free to disagree with me and indeed to discuss her feelings about me in public \u2014 but I have the same right, and I&#8217;ve finally decided to exercise it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Watch <em>SNL<\/em> tackle Rowling&#8217;s anti-trans views in the full &#8220;Weekend Update&#8221; sketch above.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Read the original article on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/snl-bowen-yang-takes-down-jk-rowling-as-dobby-the-house-elf-weekend-update-11824551\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Entertainment Weekly;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Entertainment Weekly<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Saturday Night Live recruited the perfect guest to address the latest drama surrounding Harry Potter author J.K Rowling. During the season 51 premiere, &#8220;Weekend Update&#8221; brought out Dobby the House Elf \u2014 Bowen Yang in terrifying prosthetics \u2014 to speak about Rowling&#8217;s anti-trans views amid her reignited feud with the franchise&#8217;s star Emma Watson. Shaking [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2070664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[319952,387944,387942,330223,345648,387943,352941,356573],"class_list":["post-2070663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-bowen-yang","tag-cho-chang","tag-dobby-the-house-elf","tag-emma-watson","tag-j-k-rowling","tag-master-rowling","tag-michael-che","tag-weekend-update"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SNLs-Bowen-Yang-takes-on-JK-Rowlings-anti-trans-remarks-as.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2070663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2070663"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2070663\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2070665,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2070663\/revisions\/2070665"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2070664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2070663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2070663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2070663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}