By Apoorva Rastogi | Sep 30, 2025, 11:17 AM
**JK Rowling Responds to Emma Watson’s Comments on Their Complicated Relationship**
Author JK Rowling has responded to recent comments made by Harry Potter star Emma Watson about their complicated relationship. In a lengthy and scathing post on X (formerly Twitter), Rowling criticized Watson for being “ignorant of how ignorant she is” and called out her privilege.
The feud between Rowling and the Harry Potter actors has been fueled by the author’s controversial anti-transgender comments and alleged transphobia. In contrast, Watson and Daniel Radcliffe have publicly supported the transgender community.
### Rowling’s Statement: “Emma has so little experience of real life”
Rowling began her post saying,
> “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 21 for what opinions I should hold these days.”
She 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.”
### “I’m not owed eternal agreement” — Rowling’s perspective
Rowling further wrote,
> “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.”
### Addressing Emma Watson’s 2022 BAFTA Moment
Rowling also referenced the 2022 BAFTA Awards, when Watson said she was there for “all of the witches,” which was widely perceived as a show of support for the transgender community.
The author wrote,
> “[After the event], Emma asked someone to pass a note, which [said] ‘I’m so sorry for what you’re going through.’ Emma had just publicly poured more petrol on the flames, yet thought a one-line expression of concern would reassure me of her fundamental sympathy.”
### Emma Watson Speaks on Their Relationship
Rowling’s post came after Watson discussed their relationship on Jay Shetty’s *On Purpose* podcast. The actor said,
> “I guess where I’ve landed it, it’s not so much what we say or what we believe, it’s how we say it. I just see this world right now where we seem to be giving permission to this throwing out of people, or that people are disposable. I will always think that’s wrong.”
### Support from Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe for the Transgender Community
Emma Watson has been an outspoken ally of the transgender community. In 2020, she tweeted,
> “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.”
Similarly, Daniel Radcliffe has expressed strong support, stating,
> “Transgender women are women. Any 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 [Rowling] or I.”
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The ongoing public exchanges highlight the deep divisions within the Harry Potter family and the wider community over issues of gender identity and freedom of expression.
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/entertainment/jk-rowling-responds-to-emma-watson/story
