J.K. Rowling has addressed her ongoing rift with Emma Watson in a new statement. The Harry Potter author explained why she chose to respond after Watson’s recent podcast remarks reignited public discussion.
J.K. Rowling shares lengthy message responding to Emma Watson
J.K. Rowling responded on September 29 after Emma Watson discussed their strained relationship in a September 24 episode of Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast. Rowling said she wanted to address the comments directly after seeing “quite a bit of comment” about Watson’s remarks.
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 also stated, “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.”
The Harry Potter author said Watson and Daniel Radcliffe “continue to assume the role of de facto spokespeople for the world I created” years after completing the franchise. Rowling added that they “have every right to embrace gender identity ideology” and stressed she would never want them threatened “with loss of work, or violence, or death, because of them.”
Watson, who portrayed Hermione Granger between 2001 and 2011, told Shetty, “I just believe that no one is disposable. And everyone as far as possible, whatever the conversation is, should and can be treated with, at the very least, dignity and respect.” She also said, “There is just no world in which I could ever cancel her out for, or cancel that out, for anything. It has to remain true — it is true.”
Rowling recalled Watson’s 2022 BAFTA remarks, when the actress declared, “I’m here for all of the witches,” and revealed she later received a note saying, “I’m so sorry for what you’re going through.” Rowling described the message as arriving during a period when she faced threats and increased security measures.
