Roald Dahl, a beloved children’s author known for his subversive humour and delight in shattering taboos, has become controversial in the era of cancel culture.
Dahl was a philanderer and a bully, and his depictions of Oompa Loompas and other characters have been criticized for being racist.
In response, Puffin, Dahl’s publisher, has revised 16 of his books to make them more “acceptable” to modern readers, which has been met with outrage from some, including author Salman Rushdie and Camilla, the Queen Consort.
Puffin has defended the revisions, stating they have a “significant responsibility” to protect young readers who may be reading Dahl’s books alone.
However, in a surprising twist, it has been revealed that Dahl’s own family, led by his grandson Luke Kelly, secretly agreed to the review of the books in 2020.
This decision was likely motivated by financial gain, as the Roald Dahl Story Company, which was family-owned, was sold to Netflix for £370 million that same year.
Dahl’s legacy is complicated, and his relationship with his family was fraught with pain and grief. His first wife called him “Roald the Rotten,” and his children experienced two tragic deaths and a brain-damaged sibling. Dahl’s relationship with his second wife, Liccy, was also tumultuous, and he cut his children out of his inheritance before he died.
Liccy managed his legacy alone for 20 years before passing the baton to their granddaughter, Ophelia, and eventually to Luke, who brokered the deal with Netflix.
Despite the controversy surrounding the revisions to Dahl’s books, it appears that his family’s decision to allow them was motivated by financial gain and a desire to protect his legacy.
»Roald Dahl becomes controversial in the era of cancel culture«
↯↯↯Read More On The Topic On TDPel Media ↯↯↯