Hocus Pocus star Kathy Najimy says she took a very socially conscious approach to playing a witch in the family-friendly Halloween comedy.
Following the release of Disney+'s long-awaited Hocus Pocus 2, the Today Show shared a throwback clip of a 1993 interview with Najimy on TikTok. The actress, who starred as witch Mary Sanderson alongside Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker, told host Katie Couric that she wanted to avoid perpetuating negative stereotypes against real witches when taking on the Hocus Pocus role.
"I mean, at the risk of having America roll its eyes, I just feel supportive of all groups—whether they're women's groups or gay groups or racial groups. And I know that there are groups of witches out there—I mean, I'm not a witch, I don't know any personally, but when I read the script, I thought, 'This is really perpetuating a stereotype about an evil, ugly witch.' I know that there are groups of really strong women who sort of bond together and are very spiritual and powerful, and I didn't want to, you know, be perpetuating that myth," Najimy, who was 36 at the time, said.
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Najimy Says She Consulted Feminist Icon to Play a Witch Responsibly
Although the Sister Act actress had some qualms about portraying a witch on screen, she took charge through educating the Hocus Pocus crew.
"So I talked to a lot of people about it. I talked to Kenny Ortega, the director, and he was great; I wrote letters to the producers just letting them know how I felt."
But it wasn't until she spoke to legendary feminist and journalist Gloria Steinem that she had her concerns resolved—and the activist shared some interesting facts about the origin of witches.
"I talked to Gloria Steinem about it...because she's the goddess of the world and knows everything, and she said that the interesting thing was that originally some of the women who were said to be witches were healthcare workers and midwives."
"So that's where the notion of baby eating came [from], because they would perform abortions sometimes. The women would go in pregnant and come out not, and thus the gossip about baby eating—which is of course untrue, these were just like healthcare workers."
Hocus Pocus and Hocus Pocus 2 are now available to stream on Disney+.