Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Jon Stewart Slams JK Rowling For Using 'Antisemitic' Caricatures As Goblin Bankers In 'Harry Potter'

Jon Stewart Slams JK Rowling For Using 'Antisemitic' Caricatures As Goblin Bankers In 'Harry Potter'
Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images; Warner Bros. Pictures

Jon Stewart blasted J.K. Rowling for using "antisemitic" caricatures and tropes in the goblin banker characters in her Harry Potter books and movies.

Stewart made the comments on his podcast The Problem with Jon Stewart. He contended Rowling used inspiration from the antisemitic book The Protocols of the Elders of Zion to create the goblins who run the Gringotts Wizarding Bank.


Stewart said:

"Here's how you know Jews are still where they are."

Rafael Shimunov—an activist and artist—shared a clip from Stewart's podcast on Twitter.

Stewart added how rare it is to find a Harry Potter fan who notices the antisemitic caricatures.

Stewart continued:

"I just want to show you a caricature."
"And they're like, 'Oh, look at that, that's from Harry Potter!'"
"And you're like, 'No, that's a caricature of a Jew from an antisemitic piece of literature'."
"J.K. Rowling was like, 'Can we get these guys to run our bank?'"

Stewart also recalled the moment he saw Gringotts goblins in the theater.

"It was one of those things where I saw it on the screen and I was expecting the crowd to be like, 'Holy sh*t! She did not, in a wizarding world, just throw Jews in there to run the f*cking underground bank.'"
"And everybody was just like, 'Wizards.' It was so weird."

Stewart however did not call Rowling antisemitic which many people made clear.

In the books and the movies, the goblins are depicted as being "short and fair-skinned, as they spent very little time outside. They had very long fingers and feet, dome-shaped heads and were slightly larger than house-elves."

They were also said to be very good with money and finances and controlled the wizarding world's banking system. They were also described as "secretive, cunning, and having a different perception of wealth and ownership than humans."

Shimunov pointed out he called out Rowling in 2018 for the "side locks" on some of the goblins and 6 pointed stars around the bank resembling the "Jewish star."


Shimunov added antisemites had no trouble recognizing the referenced stereotypes and cultural symbols.


He added more context as well.




He also responded to the pushback from Rowling's defenders.


As Shimunov pointed out, Stewart is not the first to point out antisemitism and racist stereotypes in Rowling's works.

Asian, Black and Indigenous North Americans took exception to Rowling's depiction of their communities and cultures when her books and films first gained attention.













As many pointed out, people of color raised objections to Rowling's use of racist stereotypes when her novels and world building was first published and publicized.




While the recent HBO Max 20th anniversary reunion of stars from the Harry Potter films proved people still love the main characters and actors, the author and the rest of her imagined worlds and her real world opinions are being increasingly flagged as problematic.

What effect this has on the longterm legacy of Harry Potter remains to be seen.

More from Trending

Jesse Watters
Fox News

Jesse Watters Dragged After Adding Another Mind-Boggling Rule For 'Real Men'

Fox News host Jesse Watters, who is apparently an authority of what it means to be a manly man, gave jazz hands to make a point about how "real men" should or shouldn't wave.

The target of his ridicule was Tim Walz, the enthusiastic Democratic Minnesota governor and vice presidential candidate who often greets the public by raising both hands in the air to wave.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of crowd at town hall and Rep. Mike Flood
@MorePerfectUS/X; KETV NewsWatch 7

GOP Rep. Goes Viral For His Response To Crowd Chanting 'Tax The Rich' At Town Hall

Nebraska Republican Representative Mike Flood was criticized following his incredulous response to a crowd that chanted "Tax the rich!" during a town hall meeting.

The Columbus High School auditorium hosted the town hall on Tuesday evening, drawing "nearly 380" attendees, according to local network KETV Omaha. The event was lively, with Flood facing both sharp criticism over Trump administration policies and some appreciation for showing up in person.

Keep ReadingShow less
Elon Musk
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Awkward Typo In Elon Musk's Bizarre 'Education Department' Trump Meme Is A Total Self-Own

Billionaire Elon Musk was widely mocked after he celebrated President Donald Trump's executive order to begin to dismantle the Department of Education (DOE) by posting a meme of Trump at the department's grave, only for an awkward misspelling to get all the attention.

Polling indicates that eliminating the Education Department is largely unpopular, with 60% of registered voters opposing the move, according to a Quinnipiac University survey conducted March 6-10. Support stands at 33%, with opposition particularly strong among Democrats—98% oppose it, while just 1% support it.

Keep ReadingShow less
JB Pritzker; Donald Trump
Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Dem Governor Reveals Trump's Bonkers Demand In Exchange For Equipment During COVID

Illinois Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker revealed during a speech this week that he clashed with President Donald Trump during the first Trump administration after Trump promised necessary medical equipment during the COVID pandemic on the condition that Pritzker praise him publicly.

Five years ago, the United States was grappling with the initial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The country had entered shutdowns that had severe economic consequences, leaving businesses and industries on the brink of collapse.

Keep ReadingShow less
Scrabble tiles spelling the word scam
Scam spelled with scrabbles on a wooden table

People Break Down How They Realized An Entire Industry Was A Total Scam

We unfortunately live in a world where scams are on the rise.

Thankfully, some of them are pretty easy to detect, such as an automated call from the IRS telling you a warrant is out for your arrest, or an email claiming to be from Amazon or the USPS asking for your credit card information, only to look closer and see the email address is a yahoo account.

Keep ReadingShow less