JK Rowling drags Emma Watson as Harry Potter feud explodes

The gloves are off in the Harry Potter family JK Rowling has fired a blistering rebuke at Emma Watson, accusing the actress of being “ignorant of how ignorant she is” after Watson suggested she still “treasures” the author despite their long-running clash over transgender rights.

Watson, who rose to global fame as Hermione Granger, had told a podcast host last week that while she disagreed with Rowling’s gender-critical views, she could never erase the role Rowling played in her life. But Rowling was having none of it.

In a lengthy statement, the writer dismissed the idea that former Harry Potter stars had the right to act as her moral supervisors. “I’m not owed eternal agreement from any actor who once played a character I created,” Rowling wrote. “Emma and Dan [Radcliffe] continue to assume the role of de facto spokespeople for the world I created. That’s ludicrous.”

Rowling went further, accusing Watson of being detached from the realities of ordinary women. “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,” she blasted.

The author recalled Watson’s famous “all witches” speech, saying it marked a breaking point in their relationship. She also revealed Watson once sent her a one-line apology note at the height of the death and rape threats Rowling received, something she described as hollow and hurtful.

“I wasn’t a multimillionaire at fourteen. I lived in poverty while writing the book that made Emma famous,” Rowling wrote. “I 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 had Watson not tried to soften her tone in a recent interview, she might never have spoken out this harshly. “Adults can’t expect to cosy up to an activist movement that regularly calls for a friend’s assassination, then assert their right to the former friend’s love. Emma is free to disagree with me. But I have the same right, and I’ve finally decided to exercise it.”