'Harry Potter' author J.K. Rowling slams 'ignorant' Emma Watson

British author J.K. Rowling of the best-selling fantasy novel series ‘Harry Potter’ called out the former wizarding franchise star Emma Watson over her ‘ignorant’ comments.

J.K. Rowling has renewed her long-standing feud with Emma Watson, aka Hermione Granger of the ‘Harry Potter’ films, based on her novel series, as she responded to the actor’s comments on their current relationship status.

Appearing recently on Jay Shetty’s podcast, her first tell-all interview in years, Watson addressed her rift with Rowling, dating back to 2020, for the first time, and said, “I really don’t believe that by having had that experience and holding the love and support and views that I have, mean 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.”

“I think the thing I’m most upset about is that a conversation was never made possible,” she added and confirmed that she will always be open to having a dialogue with the author.

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Responding to Watson now, Rowling wrote in an X post on Monday, “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,” she added. “Years after they finished acting in Potter, they continue to assume the role of de facto spokespeople for the world I created.”

Further accusing the actor of ‘pouring petrol on the flames’, Rowling continued, “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?”

“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,” she explained.

For the unversed, the issue between Rowling and Watson stems back to 2020 and began with their opposing views on transgender rights, when the latter showed her support for the people, against the author’s anti-trans comments.