Author of “The Help” Tells Oprah She's Nervous About Releasing First Book in 16 Years After Blowback Over Racial Dynamics in Previous Novel

Angelique BrenesSat, June 6, 2026 at 2:39 AM UTC

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Kathryn Stockett; Oprah WinfreyCredit: Carlos Lujan/Europa Press via Getty; Michael Loccisano/Getty -

Kathryn Stockett said she's "still worried" about criticism as she releases her first novel in 16 years, The Calamity Club

The Help author acknowledged criticism that the bestselling novel was told through a largely White perspective

The Help stars Viola Davis and Bryce Dallas Howard have also publicly expressed reservations about the film adaptation in recent years

Kathryn Stockett is reflecting on the criticism that followed The Help as she returns with her first novel in 16 years.

The bestselling author recently spoke with Oprah Winfrey about the legacy of her 2009 debut novel and the concerns she still carries as she releases The Calamity Club, her newly released follow-up.

During the conversation, Stockett acknowledged that she briefly considered avoiding similar subject matter after The Help drew criticism for depicting Black characters through a largely White perspective.

"I really tried," Stockett, 57, said when asked whether she had considered writing exclusively about White women.

However, she noted that portraying life in the South often means depicting relationships between Black and White communities, particularly in Mississippi.

Stockett also admitted that she remains concerned about how her new work will be received. "I'm still worried," she said. "I'm a Southerner, I was born to worry."

When asked what specifically concerns her, the author pointed to the backlash that followed The Help.

"Just the same things that happened with The Help, you know. I am a White woman, and it's … a story about White people and Black people, and the relationships that they have, The Help was, and a little bit in this one too," she said.

Viola Davis; The Help by Kathryn Stockett coverCredit: Dreamworks Pictures/Kobal/Shutterstock; Berkley

Stockett also agreed with the criticism that The Help was largely told through a White perspective.

"It was, you know, told from the perspective of only through the White eyes... the White gaze," she said.

While acknowledging that both she and the film's screenwriter are White, Stockett argued that the story served as an introduction for some readers and viewers to conversations about race in the South.

"For a lot of people in America, it was a first step," she said, later adding that it was "the first introduction to the complexities of the relationships between blacks and whites in the South."

The comments come years after some of the film's stars publicly expressed reservations about The Help, which was adapted into a 2011 movie.

Among them was Viola Davis, who earned her second Oscar nomination for portraying Aibileen Clark, a maid working for a white family in the 1960s.

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In a 2018 interview with The New York Times, Davis said she regretted the film because she felt it ultimately centered white perspectives rather than the experiences of the Black maids at the heart of the story.

"I just felt that at the end of the day that it wasn't the voices of the maids that were heard," Davis, 60, said. "I know that if you do a movie where the whole premise is, I want to know what it feels like to work for White people and to bring up children in 1963, I want to hear how you really feel about it. I never heard that in the course of the movie."

Despite her criticism of the film, Davis said she remained grateful for the experience and the relationships she formed while making it.

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"But not in terms of the experience and the people involved because they were all great," she said. "The friendships that I formed are ones that I'm going to have for the rest of my life. I had a great experience with these other actresses, who are extraordinary human beings. And I could not ask for a better collaborator than [writer-director] Tate Taylor."

Bryce Dallas Howard, 45, who played Hilly Holbrook in the film, later voiced similar concerns. Speaking to the Los Angeles Times in 2020 amid the global Black Lives Matter protests, Howard said she would not make the same movie today.

At the time, Howard encouraged audiences to seek out stories about racial inequality told by Black creators. She also acknowledged on Instagram that while she was "grateful" for her experience on The Help, the film had been "created by predominantly White storytellers."

Asked whether she would sign on to the project today, Howard gave a one-word answer: "No."

As Stockett revisits some of the conversations surrounding The Help, she is also looking ahead with The Calamity Club.

Kathryn Stockett; The Calamity Club: A Novel cover by Kathryn StockettCredit: Taylor Cooly; Spiegel & Grau

Released on May 5, 2026, the novel is set during The Great Depression and follows three women whose lives become intertwined in Mississippi: Meg, an 11-year-old orphan living at the Lafayette County Orphan Asylum; Birdie, an unmarried woman seeking help from her sister; and Charlie, a woman on the run from her past. According to the book's synopsis, the trio forms an "unlikely sisterhood" as they work to reclaim control over their lives during a period when women's rights remain "fragile."

Readers of Stockett's work may recognize familiar themes, including resilient female characters and a desire to create a better world. The author said her latest novel also reflects her tendency to balance serious subject matter with humor.

"It's my nature to offset serious, sometimes horrific themes, with a little bit of humor," she told PEOPLE ahead of the book's release in November 2025. "It's how I think and how I write a character."

Despite her concerns, Stockett also acknowledged that her latest book may also spark discussion.

"I'll probably get in some trouble for this one, a fate I'm drawn to," she said. "Above all, the story embraces a woman's right to determine her own fate, which feels increasingly relevant these days."

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”