Author J.K. Rowling has delivered a sharp rebuttal to Emma Watson following the actor’s recent remarks about their differing views on transgender rights. Watson, who portrayed Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films, expressed her support for trans rights in a recent podcast while also acknowledging her respect for Rowling prompting the author to respond via a lengthy post on social media platform X.
In her post, Rowling described Watson as being “ignorant of how ignorant she is.” The author, who has long drawn criticism for her views on gender and identity, accused the actress of exacerbating tensions during a period when Rowling was facing serious personal threats.
Critiquing Watson’s understanding of the issue, Rowling wrote, “Like other people who’ve never experienced adult life uncushioned by wealth and fame, Emma has so little experience of real life she’s ignorant of how ignorant she is.”
She continued, “I’m not owed eternal agreement from any actor who once played a character I created. The idea is as ludicrous as me checking with the boss I had when I was twenty-one for what opinions I should hold these days.” Rowling also mentioned her long history with Watson, admitting it had once been difficult to let go of her protective feelings toward the actress she had known since childhood.
Reflecting on a pivotal moment, Rowling pointed to the 2022 BAFTA Awards, during which Watson made a public statement supporting the trans community. Rowling recalled, “Until quite recently, I hadn’t managed to throw off the memory of children who needed to be gently coaxed through their dialogue in a big scary film studio.” She noted that Watson later sent her a message saying, “I’m so sorry for what you’re going through,” which Rowling found more hurtful than the speech itself.
The author described the period as one marked by “death, rape and torture threats” that had forced her to tighten security for herself and her family. She expressed disappointment in Watson, stating, “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 also took aim at what she sees as Watson’s lack of personal exposure to the realities many women face, particularly regarding single-sex spaces. “Emma was ‘never likely to need’ to use the types of single-sex spaces she has campaigned against trans people having access to, such as changing rooms and public toilets,” Rowling wrote.
Expanding on her criticism, Rowling added, “She’ll never need a homeless shelter. She’s never going to be placed on a mixed sex public hospital ward. I’d be astounded if she’s been in a high street changing room since childhood. Her ‘public bathroom’ is single occupancy and comes with a security man standing guard outside the door. Has she had to strip off in a newly mixed-sex changing room at a council-run swimming pool? Is she ever likely to need a state-run rape crisis centre that refuses to guarantee an all-female service? To find herself sharing a prison cell with a male rapist who’s identified into the women’s prison?”
Rowling contrasted her own early life with Watson’s privileged upbringing, asserting, “I wasn’t a multimillionaire at fourteen. I lived in poverty while writing the book that made Emma famous,” and emphasized her belief that Watson’s stance on trans issues shows a disconnect from the lived experiences of vulnerable women. “I therefore understand from my own life experience what the trashing of women’s rights in which Emma has so enthusiastically participated means to women and girls without her privileges.”
During her podcast appearance, Watson shared her thoughts on navigating ideological differences. “It’s my deepest wish that I hope people who don’t agree with my opinion will love me, and I hope I can keep loving people who I don’t necessarily share the same opinion with.” She reaffirmed her support for trans rights, saying, “Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are.”
Rowling, responding to Watson’s recent tone, claimed it seemed calculated. “A change of tack I suspect she’s adopted because she’s noticed full-throated condemnation of me is no longer quite as fashionable as it was.”
She added, “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. Emma is rightly free to disagree with me and indeed to discuss her feelings about me in public but I have the same right, and I’ve finally decided to exercise it.”
Despite their differences, Watson spoke warmly of Rowling during the interview. “There’s just no world in which I could ever cancel her out, or cancel that out, for anything,” she said, adding, “It has to remain true. It is true.” She concluded with a message of hope: “I just don’t know what else to do other than hold these two seemingly incompatible things together at the same time and just hope maybe they will one day resolve or co-join themselves, and maybe accept that they never will, but that they can both still be true.”
Both Watson and fellow Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe have previously taken public stances contrary to Rowling’s views on gender identity, which have drawn both criticism and support. Rowling has consistently rejected claims of transphobia, stating that her concerns lie with the protection of women’s rights particularly in single-sex spaces.
(With Inputs From India Today)
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