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The showrunner behind The Witcher, Lauren Hissrich, recently claimed in response to ongoing criticism that “I’ve never mocked the books,” pointing out the importance of the source material for the show. Fans of the franchise have in the past been somewhat negative in their assessment of The Witcher, spurred on by various posts on social media like those made earlier this week by the former writer on the series Beau DeMayo.While promoting an upcoming animated series based on the X-Men franchise, DeMayo attracted no small amount of attention for describing about The Witcher that "some of the writers were not into or actively disliked the books and games, even actively mocking the source material." The writer went on to explain that "you have to respect the work before you're allowed to add to its legacy." This brought on a backlash from those critical of the show, many viewers taking to social media, most notably Instagram.The complaints about deviation from the source material have been loud and clear ever since The Witcher launched back in 2019. The news that actor Henry Cavill would be leaving the eponymous role to Liam Hemsworth recently added fuel to the fire."I've never mocked the books," Hissrich replied to critics on Instagram. "The books are my entire livelihood. I have a great relationship with Mr. Sapkowski and writer’s rooms are sacred and safe and — more than anything — supportive spaces. Don't believe everything you read." The showrunner later added that "I have great respect for Beau and the episodes he wrote! The striga episode is one of my favorites. He wrote the one where people came to Kaer Morhen and Eskel died which had a lot of backlash, but he was brave in telling the story he wanted to tell. It takes a lot of balls to do that. I respect that."
Several of the writers currently working on The Witcher gave their own opinions about the matter, Javier Grillo-Marxuach for example describing how "the rumors are false,” claiming there to have been absolutely "no hate of the source material at all." Matt D'Ambrosio also defended the show, calling the claims by DeMayo "a whole mess of lies from an ex-writer of the show."