US Edition
Bowen Yang Suffers Malfunction During SNL’s Weekend Update Segment
Bowen Yang portrayed Dobby to highlight J.K. Rowling's anti-trans views and public feud with Emma Watson, performing despite a wardrobe malfunction during SNL's Season 51 premiere.
- On October 5, 2025, Bowen Yang performed as Dobby on Weekend Update during SNL's Season 51 premiere, overcoming a quick costume mishap under a minute after Michael Che's introduction to finish the sketch.
- In recent years, J.K. Rowling's public posts about gender have drawn sustained backlash and set the context for the sketch; she wrote that Emma Watson "has so little experience of real life she's ignorant of how ignorant she is," reigniting their dispute.
- Wearing prosthetics and a drab tunic, Bowen Yang's Dobby the House Elf skewered J.K. Rowling's social-media activity and the Emma Watson dispute with sarcastic, mocking lines.
- The audience cheered Yang's Dobby as one of the night's standout moments, though online reaction was mixed with social media praising and criticizing the performance.
- By tackling Rowling and the Watson dispute, the sketch reinforced Saturday Night Live's role as a cultural commentator amid the transgender rights debate and Harry Potter fanbase split during the Season 51 premiere.
18 Articles
18 Articles
The Independent
The Independent (US)SNL brutally mocks JK Rowling with Dobby the House Elf skit
Harry Potter author lampooned on US sketch show over gender ideology views
SNL Mocks JK Rowling For Dissenting From Left-Wing Trans Orthodoxy
NBC’s 51st season of Saturday Night Live got off to a rough start as cast member Bowen Yang dressed up as Dobby the house elf from Harry Potter for a heavily sarcastic Weekend Update segment that mocked British author J.K. Rowling for dissenting from the left’s trans orthodoxy. The genesis for the skit was Rowling expressing her displeasure at a podcast appearance by actress Emma Watson, where she refused to defend Rowling’s defense of women-onl…
J.K. Rowling Brutally Mocked On SNL Over Trans Rights Following Emma Watson Drama
The American sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live took a shot at Harry Potter mastermind J.K. Rowling over her views on gender in its 51st season premiere on October 5. Rowling has been vocal about her stance on gender politics and, due to her wording of publicized statements, has since been dubbed anti trans. Her opinions have gotten her on the wrong side of a large chunk of the acting industry, including Emma Watson, who played the characte…
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