While promoting his new project, an X-Men animated series with the working title "X-MEN '97," Bo DeMayo contrasted it with his former work as a screenwriter for "The Witcher," saying, "Some screenwriters (were not fans) or actively hated the book or the game. Some (actively mocked the original work)," he said, "and you have to respect the work before you are allowed to add to its legacy."

Fans of The Witcher who are disappointed with Netflix's treatment of the original work in the film adaptation and fans of the new adaptation who are upset that Henry Cavill is leaving the show after season 3 took this as ammunition to attack showrunner Lauren Hisrich on social media. On Instagram (open in new tab), where she posted a trailer for the prequel series The Witcher: Blood Origins, they called her a "trash writer" and accused her of making fun of the books.

"I've never made fun of books," Hisrich replied patiently. 'Books are my livelihood, I have a wonderful relationship with Mr. Sapkowski, and the writers' room is a sacred, safe, and most of all supportive space. Please don't believe everything you read."

After one commenter repeated Bo DeMayo's comment, Hissrich responded, "I'm not a fan of the Strega episode! The Strieger episode is one of my favorites. He wrote an episode where people came to Care Morhen and Eskel died, and he got a lot of backlash, but he bravely told the story he wanted to tell. It takes guts to do that. I respect that."

Other screenwriters currently working on The Witcher also responded to Demayo's comments on Twitter, with Javier Grillo-Marxuach (open in new tab) saying that "the rumors are false" and that there is "no 'hate' at all against the original story." Matt D'Ambrosio (open in new tab) responded more bluntly, calling it "a pack of lies by the show's former writers."

Blood Origins, most of which takes place 1,200 years before Geralt's time, will debut on December 23. Season 3 of The Witcher will follow in the summer of 2023 and will be Cavill's last appearance as Geralt before being replaced by Liam Hemsworth.