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A podcast episode from former television host Jon Stewart has gone viral after he took down author JK Rowling for being anti-semitic. In an episode uploaded in December 2021, the political commentator unraveled a depiction of goblins from the Harry Potter franchise.
The 59-year-old podcast host compared the goblins to the anti-Semitic illustrations featured in “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” a book published in 1903.
Stewart, who is Jewish, posed a question as to why Rowling “threw Jews in the f**king underground bank.”
Jon Stewart’s anti-semitism allegation explained
Stewart brought up the goblins from Gringotts Bank in one of the podcast episodes. Regarding the same, he said:
“Do you know what those folks who run the bank are? Jews!”
He then compared the anti-Semitic illustration from the aforementioned book to the goblins. Stewart said:
“And they’re like, ‘Oh, [that illustration is] from ‘Harry Potter!’ And you’re like, ‘No, that’s a caricature of a Jew from an anti-Semitic piece of literature.’”
He continued:
“And Rowling was like, ‘Can we get these guys to run our bank?’ It’s a wizarding world… we can ride dragons, you can have a pet owl… but who should run the bank? Jews. But what if the teeth were sharped?”
As the clip of him voicing out his opinion went viral online, netizens fired at him. Many criticized him for his wrong interpretation. A few tweets read:
JK Rowling's earlier controversies
This is not the first time someone has exposed the author for being anti-Semitic. In 2020, comedian Pete Davidson also expressed similar frustrations. He said:
“The woods are controlled by centaurs, the schools are run by wizards and ghosts, but who controls the banks… Jews obviously- little giant- nosed Jew Goblins.”
JK Rowling is no stranger to controversies, and the author has been called out for her anti-transgender comments in the past. The same was condemned by the Harry Potter cast, including Daniel Radcliffe. Warner Bros. also issued a statement mentioning that their “position on inclusiveness is well established, and fostering a diverse and including culture has never been more important to our company.”
