Cliff Notes – JK Rowling mocks Emma Watson despite Harry Potter star admitting rift ‘upsets’ her
- JK Rowling shared a parody video of Emma Watson, highlighting ongoing tensions after Watson expressed her desire for dialogue regarding their differing views on transgender issues.
- Watson, in a recent podcast, expressed her disappointment over the lack of conversation with Rowling, emphasising her hope for mutual understanding despite differing opinions.
- Rowling has publicly stated she will not forgive Watson and her co-stars for their support of transgender rights, reinforcing her stance on the matter through social media interactions.
JK Rowling mocks Emma Watson despite Harry Potter star admitting rift ‘upsets’ her
JK Rowling has responded to Emma Watson’s comments on a new podcast (Picture: Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for Warner Bros.)
JK Rowling shared a parody video of Emma Watson mocking her comments about their relationship in a new podcast interview amid an ongoing rift.
The Harry Potter author, 60, has previously said she won’t ‘forgive’ the child stars – Watson, Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe – after the trio shared their views on transgender women, given her own heavily criticised views on trans issues.
For the first time in years, the Hermione Granger actor, 35, addressed the seeming divide between the pair in a new interview on Jay Shetty’s podcast, On Purpose.
Discussing her feelings towards Rowling, the Little Women star shared that ‘the thing I’m most upset about is that a conversation was never made possible’ and that she’s ‘always open’ to one.
‘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,’ she concluded.
The author, however, appears to have shown she doesn’t necessarily feel the same way.
Rowling found the Emma Watson parody video funny (Picture: JK Rowling/ X / intel_lady)
Taking to X after the podcast interview, she shared a spoof clip of Watson, where X user intel_lady has donned a wig to mimic the actor’s appearance as she shares a satirical take on her words towards Rowling.
At one point in the video, the parody Watson says: ‘I will always hold space for her and so much love in my heart for her, and I would hope that she felt the same way about me.
‘But also I stand shoulder to shoulder with those who would wish harm on her, hate her and would wish the absolute worst for her in her life. But those seemingly incompatible, those two things can exist at the same time, which is why I love this incredibly diverse world that we live in…’
Rowling – who also writes under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith – reposted the clip with the caption: ‘I’m already missing @intel_lady’sAngela Rayner, but I’m here for ALL the spoofs,’ alongside a laughing emoji.
The controversial author has made her feelings about the former Harry Potter stars’ views clear (Picture: Jon Furniss/WireImage)
In April 2024, Rowling praised the findings of the Cass Review, which looked at gender identity services for under-18s, and found that children had been ‘let down’ thus far by a failure to base gender care on evidence-based research.
After posting her approval of the findings, one X user Adam Harris, said he was waiting for a ‘public apology’ from the three actors ‘safe in the knowledge [Rowling] would forgive them.’
Rowling replied at the time: ‘Not safe, I’m afraid.
‘Celebs who cosied 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 traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single sex spaces.’
In 2020, Watson posted: ‘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.’
Rowling laughed at a spoof of Watson’s comments about her (Picture: Alan Davidson/Shutterstock)
Meanwhile, both Radcliffe and Grint have also shared their solidarity with trans people in the past as well.
The same year, Radcliffe penned a note, saying: ‘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 or I.’
This year, Rowling faced criticism from trans rights activists after it was reported that she had donated £70k to For Women Scotland, the campaigning group behind the Supreme Court ruling on what the definition of a woman is.
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