Posted 2 hours agoSubscribe to BuzzFeed Daily NewsletterCaret DownPeople Are Remembering The Expert Way Daniel Radcliffe Spoke About J.K. Rowling In The Wake Of Emma Watson's Divisive New CommentsEmma has raised eyebrows after she called Rowling's troubling rhetoric about trans women an "opinion."by Stephanie SoteriouBuzzFeed StaffFacebookPinterestLinkHot Topic🔥 Full coverage and conversation on Harry Potter Earlier this week, Emma Watson sat down for a wide-ranging interview on the On Purpose With Jay Shetty podcast, where she was asked about her feelings toward J.K. Rowling. On Purpose / Via youtube.com As I am sure you know, Rowling wrote the Harry Potter book series that catapulted Emma to global fame when she was cast as one of the leading roles in the movie adaptations at age 10. Gareth Davies / Getty Images In recent years, Rowling has become somewhat of a divisive public figure, particularly due to her commitment to speaking on and funding anti-trans causes in the UK, including her support of a case that made it to the Supreme Court and successfully argued that trans women should not be legally considered women. Stuart C. Wilson / Getty Images Shortly after Rowling published a 3,600-word essay about trans people back in 2020, Emma expressed her solidarity with the trans community by tweeting: "Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren't who they say they are." Justin Tallis / Getty Images BuzzFeed TrendingHot TopicThink you're the biggest Harry Potter fan? Let's put it to the test.
See our Harry Potter Discussions Though she did not name Rowling at the time, the author appeared to take issue with Emma's actions, and later said she wouldn't "forgive" Emma and implied that her presence "instantly ruins" a movie. Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images During Emma's podcast appearance, Jay asked Emma about Rowling's comments about her, and Emma replied: "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." Chris Jackson / Getty Images "I will never believe that one negates the other and that my experience of that person, I don't get to keep and cherish," she went on. "I just don't think these things are either-or.""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 continued. "I guess where I've landed is it's not so much what we say or what we believe, but very often how we say it that's really important.""I just see this world right now where we seem to be giving permission for this throwing out of people, or that people are disposable. I will always think that's wrong," Emma explained. "I believe that no one is disposable, and everyone, as far as possible, whatever the conversation is, should and can be treated with, at the very least, dignity and respect.""As a young woman, for her to have written that character and created that world, given me an opportunity which, to be honest, barely exists in the history of English literature - there's just no world in which I could ever cancel her out or cancel that out," the star concluded. "I just don't know what else to do other than hold these two seemingly incompatible things together at the same time... My job feels like it's to hold all of it." Emma's comments ended up sparking backlash, with the actor being accused of playing both sides in a situation where neutrality should not be an option. One popular tweet reads: "Saying you can 'still love' Rowling while she openly attacks trans people just shows you are insulated from the damage she causes... That's not grace, it is privilege!!" On Purpose / Via youtube.com While somebody else pointed out: "it's not a simple opinion.. it's HUMAN RIGHTS." And in the wake of this discourse, one social media user has reminded people of Daniel Radcliffe's comments about Rowling in comparison to Emma's. For reference, Daniel was Emma's co-star in the Harry Potter movie franchise, where he played the titular character. Bruce Glikas / Getty Images Daniel has been publicly standing up for trans rights for several years now, and shortly after Rowling published her 2020 essay, he issued a statement through the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ+ suicide-prevention nonprofit that he has been publicly supporting since 2009. Gareth Davies / Getty Images "I realize that certain press outlets will probably want to paint this as in-fighting between J.K. Rowling and myself, but that is really not what this is about, nor is it what's important right now," Daniel said at the time. "Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more e