John Lithgow on JK Rowling’s trans stance backlash: ‘She’s handled it fairly gracefully’
John Lithgow is a man well aware of cancel culture and its ability to destroy careers in the blink of an eye.
The Oscar-nominated actor tells Sky News: “It is terrible to be so careful about what you say. Even in an interview like this. It goes into the world, and you can get misconstrued and misrepresented and cancelled in [the click of a finger].”
Roald Dahl is the subject of West End play Giant, by Mark Rosenblatt. Pic: Johan Persson
It’s a theme that runs parallel with his latest work – the stage show Giant – which through the lens of one explosive day in children’s author Roald Dahl‘s life, poses the question, should we look for moral purity in our artists?
The writer of great works including The Witches, Matilda and The BFG, Dahl revolutionised children’s literature with his irreverent approach, inspiring generations of readers and selling hundreds of millions worldwide. But his legacy is conflicted.
Lithgow describes Dahl as “a man with great charm, great wit and literary talent. A man who really cared about children and loved them. But a man who carried a lot of demons.”
Specifically, the play – which explores Palestinian rights versus antisemitism – deals with the fallout from controversial comments the children’s author made over the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Its themes couldn’t be more timely.
Lithgow explains: “Things are said in the play that nobody dares to say out loud… But God knows this is a complicated and contradictory issue.”
John Lithgow plays Dahl – a man capable of ‘great compassion’ and ‘enormous cruelty’. Pic: Johan Persson
‘It didn’t start as an idea about Roald Dahl at all’
So controversial are some of the play’s themes, the 79-year-old star admits his own son warned him: “Prepare yourself. There’ll be demonstrations in Sloane Square outside the Royal Court Theatre.”
Indeed, the play’s first run carried an audience warning flagging “antisemitic language; graphic descriptions of violence; emotional discussion of themes including conflict in the Middle East, Israel and Palestine; and strong language”.
But it didn’t put audiences off. Following a sold-out run at the Royal Court, the role won Lithgow an Olivier. Now, it’s transferring to London’s West End.
The play was written by Mark Rosenblatt, a seasoned theatre director but debut playwright.
He tells Sky News: “It didn’t start as an idea about Roald Dahl at all. It was about the blurring of meaningful political discourse with racism, specifically when, in 2018, the inquiry into antisemitism in the Labour Party started to come out.”
Rosenblatt describes Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes and Dirty Beasts as the “wallpaper” of his childhood, and says he had no desire to “smash the Roald Dahl pinata”.
But despite the fond recollections, he was conflicted: “Understanding that [Dahl] also, possibly, didn’t like someone like me because I’m Jewish felt complicated.” It was Rosenblatt’s exploration of “how you hold those two things at the same time” that led to Dahl becoming the play’s focus.
Elliot Levey plays Dahl’s Jewish publisher, and Aya Cash plays an American Jewish sales executive. Pic: Johan Persson
‘He’s not cancelled in our home’
Rosenblatt describes him as “a complex man, capable of great compassion, great passionate defence of oppressed people, and also incapable of enormous cruelty and manipulation. He was many things at once”.
And as for Dahl’s place in his life now? Rosenblatt says: “I still read his books to my kids. He’s certainly not cancelled in our home.”
It’s likely that Dahl’s comments, if uttered today, would lead to swift social media condemnation, but writing in a pre-social media age, the judgment over his words came at a much slower pace.
Dahl died in 1990, and his family later apologised for antisemitic remarks he made during his lifetime. But the debate of whether art can be separated from the artist is still very much alive today.
Earlier this month, Lithgow found himself drawn into a different row over artists and their opinions – this time concerning author JK Rowling.
JK Rowling in 2019. Pic:AP
‘A matter of nuance’
Soon to play Dumbledore in the Harry Potter TV series, he has been criticised by some fans for working with the author known for her gender critical beliefs.
Lithgow told Sky News: “It’s a question I’m getting asked constantly. I suppose I should get used to that, but JK Rowling has created an amazing canon of books for kids…
“I have my own feelings on this subject. But I’m certainly not going to hesitate to speak about it. Just because I may disagree… It’s a matter of nuance… I think she’s handled it fairly gracefully.”
The actor ignored calls not to take the role.
He goes on: “Honestly, I’d rather be involved in this than not. And if I’m going to speak on this subject, I’m speaking from inside this project and very much a partner with JK Rowling on it.”
Demanding an eight-year commitment and a move to the UK for the part, the stakes are high.
And with a legion of Harry Potter fans watching on from the wings, only time will tell if the Lithgow-Rowling partnership will prove a magical one.
Giant is playing at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London until Saturday, 2 August.
A Banksy artwork, where a glass police box looks like a tank of piranhas, has been moved into protective storage ahead of its display at the London Museum’s new location.
The artwork made headlines last summer when it featured as part of the street artist’s animal-themed collection in the capital, which concluded with a gorilla appearing to lift up a shutter on the entrance to London Zoo.
The piranhas piece is now in the care of the London Museum and will be kept in secure storage before it becomes accessible to the public as part of a permanent display at the museum’s Smithfield location, which is opening in 2026.
The artwork is moved from London’s Guildhall. Pic: PA
The police box had stood in Ludgate Hill since the 1990s before it was painted to resemble a fish tank.
The box was temporarily relocated by the City Of London Corporation to Guildhall Yard, where thousands of visitors viewed it from behind safety barriers, after Banksy confirmed he was responsible for the artwork.
It was later moved to Guildhall’s South Ambulatory.
Banksy’s London animals collection was made up of nine works including a rhino seemingly mounting a silver Nissan Micra, two elephant silhouettes with their trunks stretched out towards each other, and three monkeys that appeared as though they were swinging on a bridge.
Some of the works, which also included a howling wolf on a satellite dish, were removed, covered up or vandalised, after being painted across the city from 5 to 13 August 2024.
Chris Hayward, policy chairman of the City of London Corporation, said: “Banksy stopped Londoners in their tracks when this piece appeared in the Square Mile – and now, we’re making it available to millions.
“By securing it for London Museum, we’re not only protecting a unique slice of the City’s story, but also adding an artwork that will become one of the museum’s star attractions.”
The artwork after it first emerged. Pic: PA
Brendan Barns, chairman of the City of London Corporation’s culture, heritage, and libraries committee, said: “Banksy’s Piranhas are already part of City legend – and soon, they’ll be part of London’s story, too.
“Moving this piece into the care of London Museum guarantees that millions of people will be able to enjoy it, alongside an extraordinary collection that celebrates the capital’s creativity and diversity.”
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Glyn Davies, head of curatorial at London Museum, added: “With the arrival of Banksy’s Piranhas, our collection now spans from Roman graffiti to our first piece of contemporary street art.
“This work by one of the world’s most iconic artists now belongs to Londoners, and will keep making waves when it goes on show next year in the Museum’s new Smithfield home.”
London Museum’s London Wall site opened in 1976 and closed in December 2022 in preparation for the move to Smithfield.
London Museum Docklands remains open.
Taylor Swift has announced she is getting married to her NFL star boyfriend, Travis Kelce.
The pop star and Kansas City Chiefs tight end shared the news in a joint post on Instagram, with the caption: “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.”
The announcement was liked more than 1.7 million times just over 30 minutes after it was posted.
Pic: Instagram / @taylorswift
Swift and Kelce started their relationship in 2023, after the three-time Super Bowl winner said on his podcast New Heights that he tried and failed to meet the singer at her Eras Tour concert in Kansas City.
Rumours grew that the couple were dating after Swift was spotted at a number of Chiefs games. On her seventh time in the stands, she brought her father, Scott Kingsley Swift, along.
Kelce told the Wall Street Journal in November 2023: “There were definitely people she knew that knew who I was, in her corner [who said]: ‘Yo! Did you know he was coming [to the Eras Tour]?’
“I had somebody playing Cupid… She told me exactly what was going on and how I got lucky enough to get her to reach out.”
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From January: Taylor cheers on Travis after Chiefs win
Earlier this month, Swift appeared on Kelce’s podcast, New Heights, and announced her 12th album, titled The Life Of A Showgirl.
Speaking to Kelce and his brother Jason, Swift said it was inspired by the Eras Tour – and also talked about his attempt at meeting her two years ago.
While she said his plan to give her his number on a friendship bracelet was a “wild, romantic gesture,” she joked he “didn’t do any proper logistical planning” and thought he would be allowed backstage.
“Because he knows the elevator lady, he thought he could talk to her about just getting down to my dressing room,” she added. “That’s how it works in 1973.”
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The new album, which will be released on 3 October, marks her first release since she took back control over her entire back catalogue from private equity firm Shamrock Capital.
Sky News culture and entertainment reporter Gemma Peplow said after her globe-trotting tour and a swathe of re-releases over recent years, the new album cemented Swift’s reputation “as the hardest-working star in pop”.
Despite rumours he would retire after losing this year’s Super Bowl, Kelce will play for the Kansas City Chiefs again this season.
He told GQ magazine his on-field performances “slipped a little bit” as he started acting, and added: “I’m just saying that my work ethic is such that I have so much pride in how I do things that I never want the product to tail off, and I feel like these past two years haven’t been to my standard.”
Entertainment
Men should ‘demand’ prostate cancer test, ex-Sky presenter says – as he speaks about his stage-four diagnosis
Former Sky News presenter Dermot Murnaghan has called on men to “demand” a prostate cancer test and for the government to actively offer screenings, after his own stage-four diagnosis.
Speaking to Anna Jones on Sky News, Murnaghan said he didn’t have any of the usual prostate cancer symptoms – such as frequent or urgent urination or the occurrence of blood – but “fell very ill on a foreign holiday”.
Upon being treated by the NHS, he was diagnosed with stage-four cancer.
Pointing to how prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests are getting more accurate, Murnaghan said they should be offered in the same way as screenings for other cancers are.
“They might cost a little bit more money, but think about the money you save,” he said.
“Treating people who get to my stage, there’s an awful lot of things that are being thrown at me that are costing a lot of money.
“As in so many other cancers, if you are diagnosed much, much earlier, then of course you save money much further down the line.”
He said he finished chemotherapy in early July and is currently waiting to see what the effect has been.
It comes as a coalition of more than 60 cancer charities, known as One Cancer Voice, is warning the government must take urgent steps to tackle cancer care in England – including faster diagnosis targets and better prevention policies.
According to analysis carried out by the charities, more than six million new cancer cases could be diagnosed in England between now and 2040.
This would equate to a diagnosis every two minutes, which is up from one every four minutes in the 1970s.
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Cancer cases to rise in England
Murnaghan said there is “no formal screening programme” for prostate cancer and men “actually have to ask for it rather than be offered it as so often happens with other cancers”.
In the absence of a screening programme, he said he would advise men of a certain age to “go and demand it”.
‘A real bolt from the blue’
Speaking of how he put off screening, Murnaghan said: “In my own case, I fell through those gaps.
“I foolishly sat in your [presenter Anna Jones] position for many many years speaking to people about this very issue and talking about men, particularly over the age of 50, men in high risk groups who may have a history of it in their family, to go and ask for this screening…
“And I kept thinking you know ‘once I got over that age I will go and do that’,” he said.
“I kept thinking, ‘okay well you know I’ll get round to it’, life intervenes, jobs, children, holidays…all kinds of things and I never did…
“So what happened was at the end of last year I fell very ill on a foreign holiday and kind of rushed back here to get treated by a wonderful health service and was diagnosed, a real bolt from the blue.”
Read more:
England warned it faces six million new cancer cases by 2040
The former Sky News presenter is planning to join Sir Chris Hoy on a charity bike ride to raise money for cancer charities.
Sir Chris was himself diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer in September 2023.
Murnaghan is a familiar face to Sky News viewers as one of its main presenters from 2007 until 2023.
In September 2022, he announced the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II on the channel.
Before joining Sky, he presented ITV’s News At Ten and the BBC Ten O’Clock News – now known as BBC News At Ten – as well as Channel 4 News.
Murnaghan also presented the quiz show Eggheads on BBC Two for 11 years.
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