JK Rowling has responded after Emma Watson made conciliatory comments in a podcast posted Wednesday about their relationship, which has been marked for years by conflicting views on transgender rights.
On Monday, JK Rowling posted a nearly 700-word response to her 14.4 million X followers, addressing Emma Watson’s latest remarks about their ongoing conflict.
“Emma Watson and her co-stars have every right to embrace gender identity ideology,” Rowling wrote. “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.”
She then targeted Watson and her “Harry Potter” co-star Daniel Radcliffe for their public critiques of the author’s views.
“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.”
Rowling said that until recently, she felt a “certain protectiveness” over Watson and her co-stars, whom she has known since they were ten years old, stating that she has “repeatedly declined invitations from journalists to comment on Emma specifically.”
The author said the actor “has so little experience of real life she’s ignorant of how ignorant she is.”
Rowling later compared her own background of poverty to Watson’s “privileges.”
“I wasn’t a multimillionaire at 14. I lived in poverty while writing the book that made Emma famous,” Rowling wrote. “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’s remarks on X came after Watson discussed her feelings toward Rowling in a sit-down interview for the “On Purpose with Jay Shetty” podcast, which was posted on Wednesday.
When asked by Shetty how she’s dealing with Rowling’s “extremely hurtful” comments following their public break over transgender issues, Watson said that she still treasures their relationship.
“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.”
She continued, saying that she hopes “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.”
Watson’s manager did not immediately reply to an NBC News request for comment.