“She’s ignorant of how ignorant she is,” Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling said, in a nearly 700-word post shared on X, referring to Emma Watson, the actress who portrayed Hermione Granger in the film series. Their opposing views on transgender rights have now become more evident than before. hinting at their strained relationship. Here’s everything you need to know about J. K. Rowling and Emma Watson’s rift.
Where it all started
The whole conversation about J. K. Rowling being allegedly transphobic began in 2018, when she ‘liked’ a tweet that referred to trans women as ‘men in dresses’. However, the author later said it was purely an accident. “I’m afraid J.K. Rowling had a clumsy and middle-aged moment and this is not the first time she has favourited by holding her phone incorrectly,” her spokesperson told Pink News. Later, the author responded to the incident and said, “On one occasion, I absent-mindedly ‘liked’ instead of screenshotting. That single ‘like’ was deemed evidence of wrongthink, and a persistent low level of harassment began.”Harry Potter author follows ‘self-professed transphobe’ who made controversial videos such as “There is no such thing as a lesbian with a penis.” However, the author later explained that the YouTuber was an “immensely brave young feminist and lesbian who was dying of an aggressive brain tumour,” as she wanted to contact her directly.
JK Rowling’s post on ‘sex and gender issues’
It all started in 2020, amid global discussions on gender and sex. On June 10, Rowling published a note arguing that biological sex is immutable and that women’s rights to single-sex spaces should be protected, a position critics labeled transphobic. She began the note speaking about the time when she extended her support for Maya Forstater, a tax specialist who’d lost her job, “what were deemed ‘transphobic’ tweets.” The incident dates to 2019, when Rowling stood with the researcher who lost her job due to anti-trans statements. Supporting the researcher, Rowling wrote on X, “Dress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you. Live your best life in peace and security. But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real? #IStandWithMaya #ThisIsNotADrill.”In her note in 2020, Rowling revealed she is a survivor of domestic abuse and sexual assault. “I’m mentioning these things now not in an attempt to garner sympathy, but out of solidarity with the huge numbers of women who have histories like mine, who’ve been slurred as bigots for having concerns around single-sex spaces,” she said. While she said that I “trans people need and deserve protection,” she also added, “At the same time, I do not want to make natal girls and women less safe. When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he’s a woman – and, as I’ve said, gender confirmation certificates may now be granted without any need for surgery or hormones – then you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside. That is the simple truth.”“Huge numbers of women are justifiably terrified by the trans activists; I know this because so many have got in touch with me to tell their stories. They’re afraid of doxxing, of losing their jobs or their livelihoods, and of violence,” Rowling wrote in the note.
Watson reacts to J.K. Rowling’s post
Watson swiftly pushed back on Rowling’s essay and spoke about the importance of trans rights. “Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are. I 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,” the actress wrote in a post shared on X on June 11, 2020. Her statement garnered support and also, aligned with other Harry Potter stars like Daniel Radcliffe, who penned an essay for The Trevor Project affirming ‘transgender women are women’.
What’s happening now?
Earlier this week, Emma Watson addressed the feud on Jay Shetty’s ‘On Purpose’ podcast, and stated that while she does not agree with Rowling’s transphobia, she doesn’t want to ‘cancel’ the author either. The actress expressed that she still treasured the time they had spent together. “I really don’t believe that by having had that experience and holding the love and support and views that I have, means that I can’t and don’t treasure Jo and the person that I had personal experiences with. I will never believe that one negates the other and that my experience of that person, I don’t get to keep and cherish,” Watson said on the podcast. “I think the thing I’m most upset about is that a conversation was never made possible,” she added. When asked if she remained open to dialogue with Rowling, the actress said, “Yeah, and I always will. I believe in that. I believe in that completely.”
J. K. Rowling slams Emma Watson
In a lengthy post shared on X on Sept. 29, Rowling said that she held her tongue for too long; however, she wanted to make a couple of points now. The author said, “Emma has so little experience of real life she’s ignorant of how ignorant she is.”“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,” the author said.
She also took a dig at Watson’s ‘privilege’ and added, “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’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?”Rowling also emphasized that as someone who has come from poverty, she understands “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.”Criticizing the actress’ latest reaction on their relationship, Rowling said, “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 added that Watson only cared to drop a ‘handwritten note’ when ‘death, rape and torture threats’ were thrown at her.
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