J.K. Rowling wants you to know that “Harry Potter” actors “have every right” to disagree with her about trans rights — but she’s taking the kid gloves off.
“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 wrote on X as she alluded to the alleged harm to women’s rights Watson has caused with her support of the trans community. “Her ‘public bathroom’ is single occupancy and comes with a security man standing guard outside the door,” the author added. “Has she had to strip off in a newly mixed-sex changing room at a council-run swimming pool?”
Rowling has long argued that only those who are assigned female at birth should be recognized as women. Rather than acknowledging trans people and identity, Rowling referenced only “ideology” and “an activist movement” in her post.
The author specifically called out Watson and fellow “Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe for what she sees as their continued public critiques of her anti-trans politics and “assum[ing] the role of de facto spokespeople for the world [Rowling] created.”
Rowling’s lengthy post came in response to Watson saying in a recent episode of “On Purpose With Jay Shetty” that their opposing views on trans rights do not mean she can’t or doesn’t “treasure” Rowling as a person.
“I will never believe that one negates the other and that my experience of that person, I don’t get to keep and cherish,” Watson said. “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.”
In her X post, Rowling said that when she was receiving threats of violence because of her transphobic comments in the past, Watson wrote her a letter that “contained the single sentence ‘I’m so sorry for what you’re going through’ (she has my phone number)” while speaking out against her publicly. Rowling also noted that Watson’s latest comments come at a time when “full-throated condemnation of [the author] is no longer quite as fashionable as it was,” with anti-trans activists and politicians gaining ground in their attacks on trans rights.
“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 said.
Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger in all eight “Harry Potter” films, lost her driving privileges for six months Wednesday in Britain after racking up more than a dozen points on her driving record in the space of two years.
She was also ordered to pay more than $1,400 (1,044 pounds), according to multiple media reports Wednesday. Watson didn’t attend the hearing at High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court, about 30 miles northwest of London. She had previously pleaded guilty to the offense via mail.
The “Beauty and the Beast” actor, 35, already had 9 points on her record, the BBC reported, tied to offenses in October 2023, November 2023 and January 2024.
The most recent citation came on July 31, 2024, for driving her Audi A3 38 mph in a 30 mph zone, according to the Mirror. That’s the same car that reportedly got towed in February 2024 after Watson didn’t see a “no parking” sign, blocked a driveway, went to meet her mom at a pub across the street and trapped a couple of cars in a gated compound for more than three hours.
Also, in a strange coincidence, actor Zoe Wanamaker, who appeared as flying-broom instructor Madame Hooch in 2001’s “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” got the same treatment for almost the same offense shortly after Watson’s license was pulled, the Sun reported Wednesday. The actor, who works primarily in television, most recently got popped for going 46 mph in a 40 mph zone. She too hit 12 points on her record with her fourth speeding citation.
Wanamaker was fined $885 (660 pounds) and hit with $488 (364 pounds) in court costs, per the Sun. Watson’s total payment included court costs as well.
Speeding offenses in Britain carry 3 to 6 points each, depending on the circumstance, and stay on a driver’s record for four years. Driving under the influence — called “drink driving” or “drug driving” in the U.K. — carries up to 11 points, as do violations including vehicular manslaughter, racing on the highway and “dangerous” or “furious” driving. Serious violations stay on a driver’s record for up to 11 years.
HBO on Tuesday released this image of actor Nick Frost as his “Harry Potter” character, Rubeus Hagrid.
(HBO)
Watson, who last appeared on the big screen as Meg in 2019’s “Little Women,” followed by a role in the promotonal short film “Paradoxe” for a Prada campaign in 2022, is studying for the equivalent of a Ph.D in creative writing at Oxford University. She graduated from Brown University in Providence, R.I. with a bachelor’s degree in 2014.
Also on the “Harry Potter” front, as the wizarding tale prepares for its TV series reboot, HBO on Tuesday released a first-look photo of “How to Train Your Dragon” actor Nick Frost done up as Hagrid. Robbie Coltrane, who played half-giant gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid in the movies, died in October 2022 of multiple organ failure after two years of illness.
J.K. Rowling blasts Emma Watson, makes more transphobic comments
J.K. Rowling wants you to know that “Harry Potter” actors “have every right” to disagree with her about trans rights — but she’s taking the kid gloves off.
The author took to social media Monday to share a lengthy post slamming Emma Watson, who on a podcast recently addressed her own feelings about their rift. Watson was among the Wizarding World actors who spoke out in support of the transgender community amid the firestorm around Rowling’s numerous anti-trans comments in 2020.
“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 wrote on X as she alluded to the alleged harm to women’s rights Watson has caused with her support of the trans community. “Her ‘public bathroom’ is single occupancy and comes with a security man standing guard outside the door,” the author added. “Has she had to strip off in a newly mixed-sex changing room at a council-run swimming pool?”
Rowling has long argued that only those who are assigned female at birth should be recognized as women. Rather than acknowledging trans people and identity, Rowling referenced only “ideology” and “an activist movement” in her post.
The author specifically called out Watson and fellow “Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe for what she sees as their continued public critiques of her anti-trans politics and “assum[ing] the role of de facto spokespeople for the world [Rowling] created.”
Rowling’s lengthy post came in response to Watson saying in a recent episode of “On Purpose With Jay Shetty” that their opposing views on trans rights do not mean she can’t or doesn’t “treasure” Rowling as a person.
“I will never believe that one negates the other and that my experience of that person, I don’t get to keep and cherish,” Watson said. “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.”
In her X post, Rowling said that when she was receiving threats of violence because of her transphobic comments in the past, Watson wrote her a letter that “contained the single sentence ‘I’m so sorry for what you’re going through’ (she has my phone number)” while speaking out against her publicly. Rowling also noted that Watson’s latest comments come at a time when “full-throated condemnation of [the author] is no longer quite as fashionable as it was,” with anti-trans activists and politicians gaining ground in their attacks on trans rights.
“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 said.
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Speeding costs Emma Watson six months of driving privileges
Call her Emma Walks-on.
Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger in all eight “Harry Potter” films, lost her driving privileges for six months Wednesday in Britain after racking up more than a dozen points on her driving record in the space of two years.
She was also ordered to pay more than $1,400 (1,044 pounds), according to multiple media reports Wednesday. Watson didn’t attend the hearing at High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court, about 30 miles northwest of London. She had previously pleaded guilty to the offense via mail.
The “Beauty and the Beast” actor, 35, already had 9 points on her record, the BBC reported, tied to offenses in October 2023, November 2023 and January 2024.
The most recent citation came on July 31, 2024, for driving her Audi A3 38 mph in a 30 mph zone, according to the Mirror. That’s the same car that reportedly got towed in February 2024 after Watson didn’t see a “no parking” sign, blocked a driveway, went to meet her mom at a pub across the street and trapped a couple of cars in a gated compound for more than three hours.
Also, in a strange coincidence, actor Zoe Wanamaker, who appeared as flying-broom instructor Madame Hooch in 2001’s “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” got the same treatment for almost the same offense shortly after Watson’s license was pulled, the Sun reported Wednesday. The actor, who works primarily in television, most recently got popped for going 46 mph in a 40 mph zone. She too hit 12 points on her record with her fourth speeding citation.
Wanamaker was fined $885 (660 pounds) and hit with $488 (364 pounds) in court costs, per the Sun. Watson’s total payment included court costs as well.
Speeding offenses in Britain carry 3 to 6 points each, depending on the circumstance, and stay on a driver’s record for four years. Driving under the influence — called “drink driving” or “drug driving” in the U.K. — carries up to 11 points, as do violations including vehicular manslaughter, racing on the highway and “dangerous” or “furious” driving. Serious violations stay on a driver’s record for up to 11 years.
HBO on Tuesday released this image of actor Nick Frost as his “Harry Potter” character, Rubeus Hagrid.
(HBO)
Watson, who last appeared on the big screen as Meg in 2019’s “Little Women,” followed by a role in the promotonal short film “Paradoxe” for a Prada campaign in 2022, is studying for the equivalent of a Ph.D in creative writing at Oxford University. She graduated from Brown University in Providence, R.I. with a bachelor’s degree in 2014.
Also on the “Harry Potter” front, as the wizarding tale prepares for its TV series reboot, HBO on Tuesday released a first-look photo of “How to Train Your Dragon” actor Nick Frost done up as Hagrid. Robbie Coltrane, who played half-giant gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid in the movies, died in October 2022 of multiple organ failure after two years of illness.
John Lithgow will play Dumbledore in the streaming series while newcomers Arabella Stanton, Dominic McLaughlin and Alastair Stout will play Hermione, Harry and Ron, respectively.
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