SNL: Kate McKinnon takes swipe at JK Rowling during psychic sketch featuring Adele

Series regular Pete Davidson, who also featured in the latest episode, said this month that he was ‘disappointed’ by Rowling’s stance on transgender people

Saturday Night Live made a brief dig at JK Rowling over her controversial stance on trans rights, in an episode hosted by singer Adele.

Adele appeared in the sketch in question, which cast series regular Kate McKinnon as Madame Vivelda, a psychic employed by a group of friends hoping to know what 2020 has in store for them.

“This year has been so insane and hard we kind of wanna skip ahead and just see what next year holds instead,” Heidi Gardner explains.

“Yeah, 2019 has sucked but I think 2020 is gonna be our year,” Bowen Yang adds.

Madame Vivelda predicts a number of things, including Heidi and her partner washing a bag of Doritos with soap (referring to people disinfecting groceries in case of Covid-19).

Adele then asks if she’s set for a big promotion, when Madame Vivelda predicts that Adele will yell at Fedex for failing to deliver her adult colouring book.

As the friends prepare to leave, Madame Vivelda leaves them with a final message: “If any of you see JK Rowling, please tell her…. Stick to the books!”

The joke was a clear reference for the Harry Potter author’s widely criticised comments about transgender people.

Author JK Rowling (PA)

Earlier this year, Rowling wrote a lengthy essay about her opinions, in which she said she was speaking out on trans issues in part due to her personal experience of domestic abuse and sexual assault. It was unclear as to how the two issues were linked.

Rowling’s essay received criticism from a number of prominent figures, including many of the stars of the Harry Potter film franchise, such as Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Katie Leung, Eddie Redmayne, Evanna Lynch and Bonnie Wright.

Earlier this month, SNL star Pete Davidson said he was “disappointed” with Rowling’s views. 

Rowling has consistently denied accusations that she is transphobic.

Read our review of the latest SNL episode here.