Scathing Social Media Attack
J.K. Rowling Slams Emma Watson in Explosive Feud
Harry Potter author JK Rowling dismisses Emma Watson's reconciliation attempt, calling the actress "ignorant" and criticizing her stance on transgender rights in a heated social media exchange.
The years-long public rift between Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling and franchise star Emma Watson has exploded anew after Rowling launched a scathing personal attack, dismissing the actress as "ignorant" and rejecting her recent attempt at reconciliation.
Rowling's blistering remarks on social media came just days after Watson, 35, who played Hermione Granger, suggested on the Jay Shetty's "On Purpose" podcast that she still "treasured" the renowned British author despite their opposing views on transgender rights.
The author, widely known for her vocal anti-trans stance, showed no interest in ending the feud, instead questioning Watson's real-world perspective.
"Ignorant of How Ignorant She Is"
In a scathing post on X, Rowling brutally dismissed Watson's recent comments, framing the actress's activism as a privileged view divorced from reality:
“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,” Rowling wrote.
Rowling then sharply contrasted their life experiences, arguing that her own path gives her a deeper understanding of women's rights:
“I wasn’t a multimillionaire at fourteen. I lived in poverty while writing the book that made Emma famous. 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.”
The Price of Activism
Rowling has previously stated she would never forgive Watson or co-star Daniel Radcliffe,for their public criticism of an anti-trans essay she penned in 2020, claiming their statements led to "death, rape and torture threats" against her.
She suggested Watson's sudden shift in tone was insincere and perhaps politically motivated:
“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,” Rowling said.
The author concluded by asserting her right to respond publicly to the actress's attempts at a truce:
“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.”