Inside J.K. Rowling and Emma Watson's Beef Because, Yes, They’ve Got Some

There’s one thing Emma Watson and J.K. Rowling have in common — they’re both tied to the Harry Potter franchise. And if it hadn’t been for Rowling approving Emma’s casting as Hermione Granger, they probably wouldn’t have crossed paths. Needless to say, they’re very different women.

If you haven’t heard (but you probably have), Rowling is pretty vocal about trans rights and how she believes they interfere with women’s rights.

On the contrary, Emma believes trans people should be afforded the right to live their lives as they please. While the two were very close during the filming of the Harry Potter series, as Emma has gotten older, she’s been more open about her opinions and how they clash with Rowling’s. It’s been brought up time and time again, and although Emma has made it clear that the author will always hold a place in her heart, Rowling doesn’t really need it.

Here’s what’s going on between them.

Rather than digging too far into the past, let’s focus on the present, because tensions between J.K. Rowling and Emma Watson seem to be running a little higher now.

On Sept. 24, 2025, Emma appeared on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast, where she acknowledged that her and Rowling’s views are very different.

Still, she made it clear she can’t just toss Rowling aside, given their history and the fact that Harry Potter put her on the map.

"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. That's a very, very important way for me that I need to be able to move through life," Emma said.

She added that she doesn’t believe in “throwing people out,” continuing, "There is just no world in which I could ever cancel her out, or cancel that out,” referring to Rowling. She added, "I can love her, I can know she loved me, I can be grateful to her... What she's done will never be taken away from me."

What came across as a heartwarming effort to find peace in their differing views was received very differently by Rowling.

On Sept. 29, 2025, Rowling took to X (formerly Twitter), where she called Emma “ignorant” and basically slammed her for wanting to hold somewhat of a neutral stance as “ludicrous.”

"I'm not owed eternal agreement from any actor who once played a character I created. The idea is as ludicrous as me checking with the boss I had when I was 21 for what opinions I should hold these days," Rowling wrote.

While Emma may have been trying to keep things amicable between the two for the most part, Rowling isn’t having it. She pointed to Emma’s lack of real-world experience and her cushioned life with “wealth and fame” as reasons for not understanding what real hardships look like.

“She'll never need a homeless shelter. She's never going to be placed on a mixed-sex public hospital ward,” Rowling wrote.

She added, “Emma has so little experience of real life, she's ignorant of how ignorant she is.” Bringing her point to a close, she continued, “I wasn't a multimillionaire at 14. I lived in poverty while writing the book that made Emma famous. I therefore understand from my own life experience what the trashing of women's rights, in which Emma has so enthusiastically participated, means to women and girls without her privileges.”

Emma hasn’t responded to those remarks, but it’ll be interesting to see if her approach to their differing views, coupled with their shared history, remains the same.