Emma Watson says she still loves JK Rowling despite rift over gender identity

Emma Watson said she still loves JK Rowling and will not cancel the author, despite their public disagreement over gender identity. In a recent interview with podcaster Jay Shetty, Watson said it is her deepest wish that people who disagree with her opinion will still love her, and she hopes she can keep loving people who do not share the same view.

Watson described her long-standing relationship with Rowling as something she cannot erase. She said she can treasure Jo while acknowledging that a direct, open conversation about their differences never fully happened. She also emphasized that she intends to hold together two apparently incompatible truths and that she cannot cancel Rowling nor the impact she has had on her career.

Rowling responded on X with a message aimed at people who may regret their public stance, asking them to discreetly put away their pitchforks. She did not name Watson or others but linked to a May post criticizing the UK Supreme Court ruling on sex-based rights and reiterated her view that most people believe that humans cannot change sex and that binary sex remains a material fact.

Watson was among about 1,600 film and television figures who signed an open letter standing in solidarity with trans, nonbinary, and intersex communities affected by the ruling. The list of signatories included fellow actors such as Eddie Redmayne, Paapa Essiedu, and Katie Leung among others.

The dispute traces back to 2020 when several Potter stars spoke out against Rowling over her comments on gender identity, and it has continued to surface as public statements from the author and others intersect with ongoing debates within the culture and entertainment world.

With the open letter and the renewed public exchange, the Potter franchise and its fans are once again navigating a moment that blends affection for the films with strong disagreements over gender identity issues and free expression in the arts.