The Witches star Anne Hathaway has posted an apology to the disability community for the negative portrayal of limb differences. Hathaway plays the Grand High Witch in the movie, which is, like the 1990 version directed by Nicolas Roeg, based on Roald Dahl's classic children's tale. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and narrated by Chris Rock, with Stanley Tucci, Octavia Spencer, and Jahzir Kadeem Bruno rounding out the cast, The Witches released on HBO Max in October to average reviews.

Dahl's original book described the appearance of witches in great detail, with accompanying illustrations from regular collaborator Quentin Blake, which include the witches having regular hands with claws instead of fingernails. In the original movie, which starred Anjelica Huston as the Grand High Witch, that description is mostly stuck to, with Huston's hideous face makeup causing an entire generation of children countless sleepless nights. In the 2020 version, the face makeup is less overt, and the witches remain bald, but the production changes the witches' hands into long three-fingered hands, which resemble a limb difference often seen in real life. The choice caused outrage in the disability community, and Warner Bros. said it regretted the decision in an apology earlier this week. Now, Hathaway has done the same.

Related: The Witches: How The 2020 Remake Compares To The Book & 1990 Movie

Hathaway posted a sincere and heartfelt apology on her Instagram page on Thursday, explaining her reasons for not pushing back on the decision to change the witches hands. The Oscar-winning actor added her apology wasn't made out of a desire to be politically correct, but rather from a "basic level of decency." Hathaway also said that at no point did she connect the look of the Grand High Witch to limb differences and stated it would have not have happened had she been aware. The post was accompanied by a video from a limb difference awareness organization. You can see Hathaway's apology below:

Cynics may see the post as a face-saving measure, and there's no doubt Hathaway wouldn't have been able to ignore the controversy, but her reasoning and apology both make it clear she is genuinely sorry. It appears as though the decision wasn't made in an effort to deliberately harm anyone, but rather a genuine lack of knowledge about an underrepresented group.

Regardless of the intention, though, it's clear many were hurt, and hopefully this inadvertent mistake teaches other filmmakers a lesson about representation of the disability community in movies. Thankfully, for those offended by The Witches, there is always the option of watching the original with Huston as the Grand High Witch, which many argue is the better version of the character anyway.

Next: The Witches Cast & Character Guide

Source: Anne Hathaway/Instagram