Around a few weeks ago, Emma Watson (best known for playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films) had an interview with British-Indian writer Jay Shetty in one episode of the Jay Shetty Podcast, where she opened up about fame and personal well-being. At one point during the interview, Watson opened up about her relationship with the controversial children’s book author, JK Rowling, over their differing views on transgender people’s rights. Watson said that despite their differing views, “she still thinks fondly of Rowling” (Reilly). Judging by her recent statement about Rowling, it seems that while Watson has distanced herself from Rowling, she still had this “recall” of when she and Rowling once got along—something that is very common among people who have interacted with or been influenced by problematic figures in their childhood before coming to terms in their adulthood.
Then, JK Rowling released a lengthy tweet on X denouncing Watson’s and her Harry Potter co-stars’ vocal support for the transgender community. In this tweet, she called Watson “ignorant” and proceeded to justify and affirm her views on transgender people (Reilly). Upon reading her lengthy tweet, something I could get from Rowling’s transphobia is that her definition of a “real woman” is based on common stereotypes associated with femininity. From what we can learn from the incidents when she, Elon Musk, and a few others released tweets accusing a number of female athletes in the 2024 Summer Olympics for “being a man” (despite these women being designated female at birth), transphobia can encompass misogyny because of how these women would receive these accusations after winning a match, and notice that JK Rowling specifically targeted transgender women in her tweet. The whole idea of judging female athletes on whether or not they’re “women” enough is really based on assumptions that “women are bad at sports so they have to be a man if they’re great at it.” But I digress; I also want to discuss Watson and Rowling’s situation.
I’ll start by saying that it is pointless to rant on social media about a former friend or colleague’s stance on certain groups’ rights. Even if this is from a former “mentor” figure, a mentor can teach a student something, but that doesn’t change a student’s pre-existing ideas, nor that it mean that a student got another idea from another source or figure. Simultaneously, Watson couldn’t change Rowling’s mind either. Yes, Watson did mentioned about wanting to continue to respect Rowling, but 1) that was based off of her personal experiences and 2) just because she said she would still continue to respect Rowling doesn’t mean she’s going to make any direct or in-person amendments with her again because frankly, no one in the public (not even people who support Rowling’s beliefs) could imagine that and trying to make amendments would lead to an even more bitter argument.
While the relationship between Rowling and Watson could be considered a feud, the fact that Rowling would respond to what Watson said with a series of vicious tweets gives the impression that Rowling is just adding more fuel to the fire while the latter is just distancing herself from her. While Watson did subsequently mention her rift with Rowling in her interview, she didn’t say that she outright hated her. In fact, she remains calm when discussing her relationship with Rowling, making Rowling’s response to Watson seem unnecessary and uncalled for; Watson never asked for a response from Rowling, after all. Now, this is not saying that people can’t have a change of heart, but ever since Rowling’s transphobia controversy started, if we want to be allies to transgender people, we need to acknowledge that JK Rowling had always been a problematic person and nobody around her could change her mind. Even if you try to use the most scientific reasons on why transgender people deserve to exist, JK Rowling is and will continue to be a transphobe, and this is something that even the most “nostalgia-fueled” fans have to acknowledge. Yeah, I won’t stop you if you’re still a fan of the Harry Potter books, but ultimately, it is possible to be a talented writer and a horrible person at the same time. Besides, if Rowling’s transphobia still continues to discomfort you, there are literally millions of fantasy books that are not the Harry Potter books (especially those by women of color and people outside the heterosexual cisgender spectrum), so there is no reason for any adults to continue sticking with the Harry Potter series when it is also worthwhile for them to step outside their comfort zones.
Sources
Reilly, Kate. “Emma Watson addresses relationship with JK Rowling after public split over transgender rights.” NBC News, 25 Sept. 2025. https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/emma-watson-addresses-relationship-jk-rowling-public-split-transgender-rcna233685. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.
Reilly, Kate. “JK Rowling on rift with Emma Watson over trans rights: ‘She’s ignorant of how ignorant she is.'” NBC News, 30 Sept. 2025. https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/jk-rowling-responds-ongoing-rift-emma-watson-transgender-rights-rcna234538. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.