Emma Watson has broken her silence on her rocky relationship with Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, opening up about the rift that’s grown between them over the years.
Rowling, now 60, began making controversial public comments about transgender issues in the mid-2010s, sparking backlash and leading Watson and other Harry Potter cast members to voice their support for trans rights.
On Wednesday, Sept. 24, Watson appeared on the On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast, where she addressed Rowling’s remarks — including the author’s claim last year that she wouldn’t “forgive” Watson for speaking out against her.
“I really don’t believe that by having had that experience and holding the love and support and views that I have, means that I can’t and don’t treasure Jo and the person that I had personal experiences with,” Watson shared. “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 continued, “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 went on to tell Shetty, “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.”
Her remarks underscore the challenge of speaking out against someone so tied to her beginnings. Watson, who became a global star as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter franchise from 2001 to 2011, has largely stepped back from acting since appearing in 2019’s Little Women.
