Emma Watson addressed her tense relationship with J.K. Rowling in a new interview.
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In recent years, Rowling has shown a commitment to speaking on and funding anti-trans causes in the UK, including her support of a case that made it to the Supreme Court and successfully argued trans women essentially should not be legally considered women.
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Though Emma did not directly name Rowling, shortly after the latter published a 3,600-word essay about trans people in 2020, Emma 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.”
In a new podcast with Jay Shetty, Emma was asked about Rowling’s comments about her, including when the author said she wouldn’t “forgive” her and when Rowling implied that her presence in movies “instantly ruins” a movie.
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Emma replied, “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.”
“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. “I just don’t think these things are either-or.”
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“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 explained.
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“I really do believe in having conversations and that those are really important. I guess where I’ve landed is it’s not so much what we say or what we believe, but very often how we say it that’s really important. That’s really frustrating and not what you want to hear when you’re really angry and upset with someone. I just see this world right now where we seem to be giving permission for this throwing out of people, or that people are disposable. I will always think that’s wrong. I believe that no one is disposable, and everyone, as far as possible, whatever the conversation is, should and can be treated with, at the very least, dignity and respect,” she added.
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“I think the thing that I’m most upset about is that a conversation was never made possible. I always will [remain open]. I believe in that completely. I just don’t want to say anything that continues to weaponize a really toxic debate and conversation, which is why I don’t comment or continue to comment. Not because I don’t care about her or about the issue, but because the way that the conversation is being had feels really painful to me,” she said.
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“As a young woman, for her to have written that character and created that world, given me an opportunity which, to be honest, barely exists in the history of English literature — there’s just no world in which I could ever cancel her out or cancel that out,” she said. “I just don’t know what else to do other than hold these two seemingly incompatible things together at the same time…my job feels like it’s to hold all of it.”
You can watch the full interview here.
Editor’s note: BuzzFeed does not support discriminatory or hateful speech in any form. We stand by the LGBTQ community and all fans who found a home in the Harry Potter series and will work to provide a safe space for fans. If you, like us, feel impassioned about trans rights, learn more or donate here.
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