{"id":180232,"date":"2025-09-25T06:18:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T06:18:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/180232\/"},"modified":"2025-09-25T06:18:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T06:18:07","slug":"emma-watson-breaks-silence-on-j-k-rowling-anti-trans-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/180232\/","title":{"rendered":"Emma Watson Breaks Silence On J.K. Rowling Anti-Trans Controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Emma Watson is getting candid about her complicated rift with \u201cHarry Potter\u201d author J.K. Rowling.<\/p>\n

Watson, who skyrocketed to fame after starring as Hermione Granger in the \u201cHarry Potter\u201d movie franchise from 2001 to 2011, previously spoke out about her support of trans rights after Rowling began spewing anti-trans rhetoric<\/a> on social media in 2019, drawing ire from trans activists and \u201cHarry Potter\u201d fans. <\/p>\n

While appearing on Wednesday\u2019s episode of the \u201cOn Purpose With Jay Shetty,<\/a>\u201d Shetty asked Watson about her relationship with Rowling, which remains sour after the once-celebrated laureate of children\u2019s literature implied last year that she doesn\u2019t plan to forgive<\/a> Watson and her \u201cHarry Potter\u201d co-star Daniel Radcliffe for publicly opposing her comments. <\/p>\n

Rowling also noted that the two should \u201csave their apologies<\/a>\u201d after speaking out against her anti-trans remarks. <\/p>\n

\u201cI really don\u2019t believe that by having had that experience and holding the love and support and views that I have, means that I can\u2019t and don\u2019t treasure Jo and the person that I had personal experiences with,\u201d Watson said. \u201cI will never believe that one negates the other and that my experience of that person, I don\u2019t get to keep and cherish.\u201d <\/p>\n

She continued, \u201cI think it\u2019s my deepest wish that I hope people who don\u2019t agree with my opinion will love me, and I hope I can keep loving people who I don\u2019t necessarily share the same opinion with.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Rowling wrote an essay<\/a> defending her anti-trans beliefs in 2020, Watson and Radcliffe swiftly voiced support for the transgender community in response. <\/p>\n

\u201cTrans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren\u2019t who they say they are,\u201d Watson wrote in a June 2020 X post. <\/a><\/p>\n

In a separate follow-up post, she added<\/a>, \u201cI want my trans followers to know that I and so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"EmmaEmma Watson and J.K. Rowling.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Radcliffe wrote <\/a>an essay<\/a> on the website of The Trevor Project<\/a>, an organization that helps at-risk LGBTQ youth.<\/p>\n

\u201cTransgender women are women,\u201d he wrote. \u201cAny statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rowling contested the accusations that she \u201chates trans people\u201d in an X post. <\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea that women like me, who\u2019ve been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they\u2019re vulnerable in the same way as women – ie, to male violence – \u2018hate\u2019 trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences – is a nonsense,\u201d she wrote in June 2020. <\/p>\n

Watson went on to tell Shetty that she\u2019s \u201cmost upset\u201d about the fact that a \u201cconversation was never made possible\u201d between her and Rowling. <\/p>\n

Shetty then asked if she would be open to speaking with Rowling, to which Watson replied, \u201cYeah, and I always will. I believe in that. I believe in that completely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in the interview, Watson declared that she believes that \u201cno one is disposable,\u201d adding, \u201cAnd everyone as far as possible, whatever the conversation is, should and can be treated with, at the very least, dignity and respect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch Watson\u2019s appearance on the \u201cOn Purpose With Jay Shetty\u201d podcast below.<\/p>\n

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Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.<\/a><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Emma Watson is getting candid about her complicated rift with \u201cHarry Potter\u201d author J.K. Rowling. Watson, who skyrocketed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":180233,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[236,73410,88,9346,16829],"class_list":{"0":"post-180232","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-emma-watson","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-harry-potter","12":"tag-jk-rowling"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180232\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}