JK Rowling slams Emma Watson for 'trashing' women's rights in favor of gender-confused men: 'She's ignorant'

By Samantha Kamman, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, October 01, 2025

Author J.K. Rowling publicly rebuked actress Emma Watson for advocating for allowing trans-identifying men in women’s shelters, prisons and bathrooms, accusing Watson of ignorance for failing to see how eroding all-female spaces puts women and girls in harm's way. 

The 60-year-old British author clarified in a Monday X post that Watson, who played Hermione Granger in the film franchise based on Rowling’s Harry Potter book series, doesn't owe her “eternal agreement” because she played a character that the writer created. 

“Emma Watson and her co-stars have every right to embrace gender identity ideology,” Rowling stated. “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 [Daniel Radcliffe] 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,” the British author continued. “Years after they finished acting in Potter, they continue to assume the role of de facto spokespeople for the world I created.”

Rowling, who has endured public backlash and death threats for her criticisms of the trans movement and its harms, opened up about her relationship with Watson following an interview the actress did last week for the "Jay Shetty Podcast." 

During the interview, Watson said she disagrees with Rowling’s views on transgenderism, but this doesn’t mean that she can’t “treasure Jo and the person that I had personal experiences with.” 

Watson also stated that she doesn’t think anyone is “disposable,” adding that she believes “everyone should be treated with, at the very least, dignity and respect.”

In response to Watson, Rowling highlighted her own experience of living through poverty and financial hardship before publishing the Harry Potter series, noting that the 35-year-old actress doesn't understand what it's like to live in the real world. 

“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,” Rowling stated. 

Watson has an estimated net worth of $85 million derived from her acting roles, real estate assets and other ventures, according to the BBN Times. The British actress earned around $70 million from the "Harry Potter" film franchise, with her salary expanding from $1 million for the debut to around $15 million to $20 million annually by the finale. 

Watson’s parents first insisted on a trust to prevent her from spending the money all at once. Then, in 2008, at the age of 18, the actress purchased a ski chalet in Meribel, France, for $1.2 million, according to the BBN Times.

"I wasn't a multimillionaire at 14. I lived in poverty while writing the book that made Emma famous," Rowling noted in her Monday X post. "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."

Rowling added that it’s unlikely Watson will ever have to live in a homeless shelter, and it’s doubtful that the film star has even changed clothes in a school locker room since childhood.

“Her 'public bathroom' is single occupancy and comes with a security man standing guard outside the door,” the British author wrote. “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 center 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?”

According to Rowling, one reason that she has refrained from answering questions from reporters about Watson is that she couldn’t help but feel a sense of “protectiveness” for someone she has known since they were a child. 

If the former "Harry Potter" actress hadn’t decided to declare in the podcast interview that she apparently “loves” and “treasures” the author, according to Rowling, she might not have decided to be honest about her feelings toward Watson.

The author also asserted that Watson’s declaration is likely because “full-throated condemnation” of the Harry Potter creator is “no longer quite as fashionable as it was.” 

“Adults can't expect to cozy up to an activist movement that regularly calls for a friend's assassination, then assert their right to the former friend's love, as though the friend was in fact their mother,” Rowling declared. “Emma is rightly free to disagree with me and indeed to discuss her feelings about me in public — but I have the same right, and I've finally decided to exercise it.” 

Rowling separately commented on Watson’s remarks at the 2022 British Academy Film Awards, describing it as a “turning point” in her relationship with the actress.

During the show, host Rebel Wilson introduced Watson, who presented the award for Outstanding British Film, by saying, "She's proud to call herself a feminist, but we all know she's a witch." After she stepped on the stage, Watson stated, "I'm here for all of the witches," which many, including Rowling, interpreted as a subtle dig at the author’s views on transgenderism. 

Watson reportedly asked someone to pass a private note to Rowling after the speech, stating, “I’m sorry for what you’re going through,” a reference to the threats the author had received. 

“This was back when the death, rape and torture threats against me were at their peak, at a time when my personal security measures had had to be tightened considerably and I was constantly worried for my family's safety,” Rowling recalled. “Emma had just publicly poured more petrol on the flames, yet thought a one-line expression of concern from her would reassure me of her fundamental sympathy and kindness.”