SNL mocks J.K. Rowling with Dobby sketch amid transgender debate

Saturday Night Live used its Season 51 premiere to lampoon author J.K. Rowling, bringing the long-running debate over her comments on transgender issues back into the spotlight. During the show's Weekend Update segment, Bowen Yang appeared in costume as Dobby the House Elf and, on behalf of his "master" Rowling, delivered a series of satirical remarks that referenced the author's public exchanges with former Harry Potter cast members and her statements about gender.

Yang's Dobby repeatedly framed the appearance as an obedience to Rowling, at one point saying he had been ordered to "define once and for all what a woman is." The character also delivered a line that directly echoed controversy over Rowling's comments, saying "women have vaginas and women's bathrooms are for women only and girls and ghosts of girls." The sketch included physical comedy, a wardrobe malfunction and several self‑punishing gags in which Dobby banged his head and called himself "bad Dobby," prompting audible laughter from the studio audience.

The bit arrived amid an ongoing feud between Rowling and Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger in the film adaptations. The disagreement intensified after Watson...