Jon Stewart denied calling author J.K. Rowling antisemitic over how goblins are portrayed in the “Harry Potter” movies, saying that his earlier comments were “lighthearted” and taken out of context.
In December, the former “Daily Show” host discussed during “The Problem with Jon Stewart” podcast about how the goblins who run Gringotts Bank, the major bank in the fictional series, are portrayed. He said that Harry Potter fans would be showed a depiction of Jews in the notoriously antisemitic “The Protocols of the Elder of Zion” book. “They’re like, ‘Oh look at that that’s from Harry Potter!’” Stewart said. “You’re like, ‘No, that’s a caricature of a Jew from an antisemitic piece of literature.’” He added: “The train station has half a thing and no one can see it, and we can ride dragons and you’ve got a pet owl. Who should run the bank? Jews.”
He recalled seeing the first Harry Potter movie in the theater and expected “the crowd to be like, ‘Holy s—, she did not in a wizarding world just throw Jews in there to run the f—ing underground bank.’ And everyone was like, ‘Wizards.’”
So @jonstewart recently broke Hollywood's complete silence on @jk_rowling unapologetically maintaining antisemitic folklore through Harry Potter. pic.twitter.com/ezWrxpzryB
— Google Fox News Sexual Abuse (@rafaelshimunov) January 3, 2022
Those comments were later picked up by various news outlets, including Newsweek, which ran a January 4 piece titled: “Jon Stewart Accuses J.K. Rowling of Antisemitism in ‘Harry Potter.’” Stewart pushed back in a January 5 video posted to his Twitter account, arguing that he never called Rowling or the Harry Potter series antisemitic, explaining that it was simply “a lighthearted conversation among colleagues and chums … enjoying ourselves about Harry Potter and my experience watching it for the first time in the theater as a Jewish guy and how some tropes are so embedded in society they’re basically invisible.”
He later added: “I do not think J.K. Rowling is antisemitic. I did not accuse her of being antisemitic. I do not think the Harry Potter movies are antisemitic. I really love the Harry Potter movies, probably too much for a gentleman of my considerable age.”
Stewart proceeded to accuse Newsweek of having “a business model based on f—ing arson” and reiterated that he didn’t want the Harry Potter movies to be censored. “Get a f—ing grip,” he said.
Newsweek et al, may eat my ass. pic.twitter.com/eRoYYeNRi1
— Jon Stewart (@jonstewart) January 5, 2022
Earlier on January 5, the Britain-based Campaign Against Antisemitism defended Rowling in a statement saying that the goblins in Harry Potter are based on their “portrayal of Western literature as a whole.” “It is the product of centuries of association of Jews with grotesque and malevolent creatures in folklore, as well as money and finance,” the statement read. “The mythological association have become ingrained in Western culture that their provenance no longer registers with creators or consumers.” They added that Rowling “has proven herself over recent years to be a tireless defender of the Jewish community in its fight against antisemitism, for which we are immensely grateful.”
Our statement on suggestions that JK Rowling's portrayal of the goblins in the Harry Potter series is antisemitic pic.twitter.com/v9twpzkxM4
— Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) January 5, 2022
Author and education Ben Freeman tweeted that Rowling “was one of the only non-Jewish celebrities who stood up for Jews during Corbynism. The goblins in Harry Potter were influenced by European folklore, which is, of course, steeped in racist lies about Jews.” “This does not mean that in her portrayal of the goblins of Gringotts Rowling intended to demonise Jews, nor does it mean she is a racist,” he added. “This can only demonstrate how deeply embedded anti-Jewishness is in European (and in turn, Western) culture.”
JK Rowling is not anti-Jewish.
In fact, she was one of the only non-Jewish celebrities who stood up for Jews during Corbynism.
The goblins in Harry Potter were influenced by European folklore, which is, of course, steeped in racist lies about Jews.
— Ben M. Freeman (@BenMFreeman) January 5, 2022
This does not mean that in her portrayal of the goblins of Gringotts Rowling intended to demonise Jews, nor does it mean she is a racist.
This can only demonstrate how deeply embedded anti-Jewishness is in European (and in turn, Western) culture.
— Ben M. Freeman (@BenMFreeman) January 5, 2022
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