Last week, Watson appeared on the 'On Purpose With Jay Shetty' podcast and discussed her relationship with the Harry Potter author. Watson expressed that she would always cherish the moments that she had with JK Rowling when she was young and working on the film franchsie. She expressed that their disagreement over Trans rights does not mean that she “can’t treasure Jo and the person that I had personal experiences with”.
Watson and her former co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint have been vocal advocates for trans rights and in the last five years they have each spoken out against the author for the comments she has made on trans rights.
Rowling has since released a lengthy statement claiming that Watson has poured "more petrol on the flames" of abuse that she recieves. The Harry Potter author has also labelled Watson as "ignorant."
Shorlty after the actor stated their disagreements does not mean she cannot treasure the author and that she would be open to speaking with Rowling again, the author took to X to respond. "Adults can’t expect to cosy up to an activist movement that regularly calls for a friend’s assassination, then assert their right to the former friend’s love, as though the friend was in fact their mother," she wrote.
“Emma Watson and her co-stars have every right to embrace gender identity ideology, Emma and Dan in particular have both made it clear over the last few years that they think our former professional association gives them a particular right – nay, obligation – to critique me and my views in public," Rowling wrote. "Years after they finished acting in Potter, they continue to assume the role of de facto spokespeople for the world I created," she continued.
Rowling commented that Watson's speech at the 2022 Baftas was a "turning point". Rebel Wilson hosted the ceremony and introduced Watson to the stage, “here to present the next award is Emma Watson. She calls herself a feminist, but we all know she’s a witch,” Wilson said. Watson then responded with, “I’m here for all the witches!”. Soon after the event, Rowling recieved a note from the actress which she reportedly found hurtful.
“Emma asked someone to pass on a handwritten note from her to me, which contained the single sentence ‘I’m so sorry for what you’re going through’ (she has my phone number). This was back when the death, rape and torture threats against me were at their peak, at a time when my personal security measures had had to be tightened considerably and I was constantly worried for my family’s safety. Emma had just publicly poured more petrol on the flames, yet thought a one-line expression of concern from her would reassure me of her fundamental sympathy and kindness,” Rowling wrote.
Rowling suggets that Watson holds these views because she grew up living a "sheltered" lifestyle, "Emma has so little experience of real life she’s ignorant of how ignorant she is,” she wrote.
