JK ROWLING has launched a scathing attack on Emma Watson after her interview speaking about their rift over transgender rights.
The Harry Potter author slammed Watson – who played Hermoine in the movies – in a lengthy statement this morning, calling her “ignorant”.
JK Rowling launched into a scathing rant about Emma Watson today[/caption]
Rowling accused Watson of being ‘ignorant’[/caption]
The author, 60, slammed: “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.”
Watson, 35, spoke to Jay Shetty on his podcast earlier in the week about their feud.
She said: “The thing I’m most upset about is that a conversation was never made possible.
“I think it’s my deepest wish that I hope people who don’t agree with my opinion will love me and I hope I can keep loving people who I don’t necessarily share the same opinion with.”
Rowling didn’t seem to share this view, sharing a spoof clip of Watson during the podcast to X.
The author has now retaliated, saying in a post: “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.
“Emma Watson and her co-stars have every right to embrace gender identity ideology. Such beliefs are legally protected, and I wouldn’t want to see any of them threatened with loss of work, or violence, or death, because of them.
“However, Emma and Dan in particular have both made it clear over the last few years that they think our former professional association gives them a particular right – nay, obligation – to critique me and my views in public.
“Years after they finished acting in Potter, they continue to assume the role of de facto spokespeople for the world I created.”
She said she felt “protectiveness” over the actors she has known since they were 10-years-old.
But Rowling accused Watson of “pouring petrol on the flames”.
The author continued: “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.
“Has she had to strip off in a newly mixed-sex changing room at a council-run swimming pool? Is she ever likely to need a state-run rape crisis centre that refuses to guarantee an all-female service?
“To find herself sharing a prison cell with a male rapist who’s identified into the women’s prison?
“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.”
Rowling has come under fire for comments made in the past towards trans people.
In 2020, the esteemed author slammed the growing trend of replacing “biological sex” with “gender identity”.
Her stance, that declared “sex is real”, led to death threats, but also moulded her into a figurehead for the “gender-critical” movement.
Activists accused her of transphobia in 2020 when replying to an article with the headline: “Opinion: Creating a more equal post Covid-19 world for people who menstruate.”
She tweeted: “‘People who menstruate’. I’m sure there used to be a word for those people.
“Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”
Her remarks led to criticism from Potter actors Daniel Radcliffe, Watson, Rupert Grint, who ignored the fact her books had made them famous to launch a string of attacks.
It was Rowling’s beloved group For Women Scotland which also launched a long-running legal battle with the Scottish government over how a “woman” was defined in Scottish law.
The Scottish government had argued people with gender recognition certificates (GRCs) should be protected from sex-based discrimination, meaning a transwoman would be considered a woman.
However, campaign group For Women Scotland claimed this only applied to people born as a female.
In April, the Supreme Court’s landmark judgement ruled that it was unanimously determined “sex is binary” and that female-only spaces must be protected on the basis of biology.
