Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has publicly addressed Emma Watson’s recent remarks concerning their increasingly complex relationship.
During a podcast interview last week, Watson attempted to adopt a more conciliatory tone, stating her desire to move away from ‘cancel culture’ surrounding Rowling and expressing a reluctance to ‘weaponize a really toxic debate and conversation’ around transgender issues – a topic Rowling has been a prominent and often controversial voice on.
However, Rowling swiftly responded on social media today, offering a detailed public rebuttal to Watson’s comments. She delved into their evolving relationship, even revealing a private apology Watson had previously sent during what Rowling described as the ‘peak’ of serious threats against her personal safety.
In her extensive post, Rowling contrasted Watson’s recent declaration of still being able to ‘love’ the author despite ‘seemingly incompatible’ views, with earlier public statements from the actress that Rowling believes ‘poured more petrol’ onto the escalating threats she endured.
“I’m seeing quite a bit of comment about this, so I want to make a couple of points,” Rowling began, asserting that while Watson was entitled to her opinions on ‘gender identity ideology,’ both Watson and fellow Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe had ‘made it clear’ they felt obligated to publicly critique Rowling’s stances.
“When you’ve known people since they were 10 years old it’s hard to shake a certain protectiveness,” Rowling shared. “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. For the past few years, I’ve repeatedly declined invitations from journalists to comment on Emma specifically, most notably on the Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling podcast. Ironically, I told the producers that I didn’t want her to be hounded as the result of anything I said.”
Rowling then highlighted a specific moment at the 2022 BAFTA Awards, where Watson’s brief public remark, “I was here for all witches,” was widely interpreted as a show of support for transgender rights and a subtle jab related to the Harry Potter franchise.
“In truth, that was a turning point for me,” Rowling revealed. “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.”
Regarding Watson’s perspectives on transgender issues, Rowling implied they stemmed from an individual who had “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,” Rowling continued, before listing various public mixed-sex settings the actress would likely never encounter – common points of discussion in the transgender rights debate.
“I wasn’t a multimillionaire at 14,” Rowling stated, drawing a sharp contrast to Watson’s upbringing. “I lived in poverty while writing the book that made Emma famous… The greatest irony here is that, had Emma not decided in her most recent interview to declare that she loves and treasures me — 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 — I might never have been this honest.”
She concluded with a powerful statement: “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.”
Separately, Watson commented last week on her recent hiatus from acting, noting that she found promoting movies—a process of “selling things”—to be “quite soul-destroying.”
Image credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor.