Author J.K. Rowling did not receive Emma Watson’s comments on their relationship well, saying the Harry Potter actress never lived “uncushioned by wealth and fame.”
Watson played Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter film series and said in a podcast on Wednesday that her personal views don’t stand in the way of the “personal experiences” she had with Rowling. Watson’s comments came five years after she said on Twitter that “trans people are who they say they are,” around the same time Rowling started speaking out against “new trans activism.”
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Rowling condemned Watson on Monday, saying the actress and fellow Harry Potter co-star Daniel Radcliffe think they have an “obligation” to criticize her and her views publicly. The author also said Watson had someone pass a note to her that read, “I’m so sorry for what you’re going through,” after Watson had “publicly poured more petrol on the flames” when death threats against Rowling peaked.
“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’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,” Rowling said on X.
The author added that she “lived in poverty” while writing the book series that made Watson famous, and because of this, Rowling argued she understands “what the trashing of women’s rights” means to women and girls. She also said Watson “enthusiastically participated” in the “trashing” of women’s rights.
“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,” Rowling posted.
Meghan McCain praised Rowling in sharing her statement, calling her “a fearless icon” for wanting to protect women and children while “calling out the science fiction insanity claims” that there are more than two genders. She also said she has “no interest” in anything Watson is involved in.
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Rowling hasn’t slowed down her criticism of transgender ideology. She slammed the arrest of comedy writer Graham Linehan in the United Kingdom this month over social media posts criticizing transgender activism. She asked on X, “What the f*** has the UK become?” Billionaire and X owner Elon Musk reposted her statement and said, “Police state.”
While Watson and Radcliffe voiced criticism against Rowling’s views, other Harry Potter actors are supportive of her. Jim Broadbent, who played Horace Slughorn in the film series, called Rowling “amazing” and the attacks against her “sad abuse” in 2023.
Likewise, the late Robbie Coltrane, who played Hagrid, said he didn’t find Rowling’s comments offensive, saying in 2020, “There’s a whole Twitter generation of people who hang around waiting to be offended.”