Emma Watson still 'treasures' J.K. Rowling amid opposing views on trans rights
Emma Watson got things off her chest regarding her complicated rift with J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series, in which she starred.
In an interview on the On Purpose With Jay Shetty podcast, the actress was asked for her reaction to Rowling’s remark that she would "never forgive" Watson and several of her Harry Potter co-stars for their supportive trans rights stance and that they now have "ruined" the movies.
"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," she said.
"I will never believe that one negates the other and that my experience of that person, I don’t get to keep and cherish," she continued.
According to her, it's possible to both disagree with someone and still appreciate the role they played in your life.
"I just don’t think these things are either or. 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," Watson said.
"The thing I’m most upset about is that a conversation was never made possible," she added.
Beginning in 2019, Rowling began making public remarks about trans people, rejecting the view that gender identity is different from birth sex and expressing opposition to legislation that would allow trans people to legally self-identify their gender without first receiving a medical diagnosis.
She added fuel to the fire when she posted her support for a researcher named Maya Forstater, who lost her job following tweets attacking the transgender community. Many said that by defending Forstater, she was justifying transphobia.
At the time, Watson made her stance clear with a public message supporting the community, saying, "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."
This was shared by her co-star Daniel Radcliffe, who previously wrote a letter where he stressed that "transgender women are women" and that everyone needs to "support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm."
Following this, Rowling had denounced the two actors for their views.
Responding to a follower who suggested that Radcliffe and Watson might seek forgiveness for their public support of transgender rights, she replied, "Celebs who cozied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies for traumatized detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single sex spaces."