JK Rowling accuses 'ignorant' Emma Watson of 'pouring petrol' on trans attacks in scathing post

Evening Standard

JK Rowling has accused Emma Watson of “pouring petrol on the flames” when the Harry Potter writer faced death threats over her views on trans rights.Rowling turned on the actress, 35, in a lengthy message posted on social media on Monday.It came after the Harry Potter star said she “loves” the children’s author, 60, and “refuses to cancel her” in a recent podcast - despite not agreeing with her views on trans people.

Transcript

00:00JK Rowling has claimed Emma Watson is ignorant, led a cushioned life and has poured petrol on

00:06the online hate towards the author. So where has this all come from? The backlash began in June

00:102020 when JK Rowling tweeted criticism of a headline that used the phrase people who menstruate.

00:17She suggested it should have said women. She followed this up with an essay on her website

00:21defending her views. Rowling stated she supported trans rights but was concerned about the erasure

00:27of sex and the potential impact on women's rights. The essay was met with immediate backlash with

00:33Emma Watson amongst the many stars of Harry Potter who spoke out in support of transgender people

00:39following the controversy. Daniel Radcliffe was one of the first to respond in a statement saying

00:44transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of

00:49transgender people. This was followed by Emma Watson who posted on Twitter trans people are who

00:55they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned. Rupert Grint,

01:00Eddie Redmayne and Bonnie Wright also said they stand with the trans community and reiterated that

01:05trans women are women. Since then Rowling has said she won't forgive the franchise's child stars

01:11for criticising her views. Now fast forward to September 2025. After years of controversy Emma

01:17Watson has now divided fans after refusing to cancel JK Rowling. Having had that experience and holding

01:24the love and support and views that I have mean that I can't and don't treasure Joe and the person that I

01:37that I had personal experiences with, I will never believe that one negates the other.

01:48The interview received a mixed response with some saying the actress had been put in a complicated

01:53position while others claimed she was too passive and accused her of sitting on the fence.

01:58You can't sit on the fence. She was a real cheerleader for Mermaids the charity and for transitioning

02:04children and for people knowing who they are. Now JK Rowling has released a lengthy social media post

02:10that accuses Watson of publicly pouring more petrol on the flames when the writer was receiving death

02:16threats over her views on trans rights. In the post the writer touches on her thoughts to Watson's

02:20all witches speech. I'm here for all of the witches.

02:26Tells the story of a handwritten note from Watson in the midst of the online hate and targets the actress

02:32for being ignorant saying she has little experience of real life. Emma Watson is yet to respond.

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