As a more mature student at Oxford University, actress Emma Watson seems a little out of place as she walks around the historic courtyards and green spaces of the campus.
I’ve been noticing that the 35-year-old student – she’s working towards a DPhil, which is Oxford’s equivalent of a PhD, in creative writing – is around New College quite a bit lately. It’s funny, because New College’s buildings, dating back to the 14th century, were actually used as a filming location for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It’s quite the contrast – ancient architecture playing a role in a modern fantasy film!
She’s been seen socializing with students much younger than herself, frequenting the college library. She even took the lead as coxswain for one of the women’s rowing teams during the Oxford ‘Summer Eights’ regatta, and attended the college’s recent £250-per-person ‘La Vie En Rose’ Parisian-themed ball (where one traditional professor was overheard complaining that her outfit wasn’t formal enough).
The Daily Mail has learned that Watson attended an event put on by the exclusive Piers Gaveston society. This secretive dining club was started in the 1970s by Valentine Guinness, who comes from a brewing family. It’s also been connected to the ‘Piggate’ allegations surrounding former Prime Minister David Cameron.
We’ll have more soon about millionaire Watson’s unusual life in Oxford, where she lives in a large nine-bedroom house in Jericho, drives an Audi, and recently shared a one-person play. The play aimed to help people understand “how strange it is to be me” – being a very famous person at a regular university.
The actress experienced a difficult week when author JK Rowling publicly criticized her. This followed a five-year disagreement between the two, stemming from Rowling’s views on transgender rights and the actress’s public disapproval. The conflict arose because Rowling’s books made the actress a famous child star, earning her an estimated £42million fortune.
Rowling expressed strong disagreement online, stating that Watson, known for portraying Hermione Granger in the film adaptations of her books, is ‘ignorant of how ignorant she is’. She also suggested Watson has been negatively influenced by her wealth and fame and lacks ‘so little experience of real life’.
What caused this angry reaction? According to 60-year-old Rowling, comments made by Watson on a podcast last week – during which she spent two and a half hours expressing her continued affection for the author and stating she wouldn’t ‘cancel’ Rowling despite differing opinions – were the final straw.
In a post on X, Rowling claimed the actress, who is now a student, was being overly friendly with a group that frequently threatens violence, even calling for the death of someone Rowling knows. She explained that her relationship with her former friend had deteriorated after Watson publicly worsened the abuse Rowling had already experienced by ‘adding fuel to the fire’.
However, the author’s harshest criticism was definitely pointing out that the former child star had ‘never known what it was like to live as an adult without the protection of money and recognition’.
‘I didn’t have a fortune at fourteen,’ Rowling explained, recalling her time as a single mother when she famously faced financial hardship while living in a public housing apartment in Edinburgh.
While I was writing the book that brought Emma fame, I personally experienced poverty. Because of this, I deeply understand the impact of Emma’s recent actions – her outspoken opposition to women’s rights – on women and girls who don’t share her advantages. I know firsthand what it’s like to struggle, and that gives me a unique perspective on the harm she is causing.
A lot of these advantages are already known. Emma’s father, a successful lawyer, also owns a French vineyard that produces bottles of ‘Domaine Watson’ Chablis and Irancy wine costing around £30. Emma, who was born in Paris, went to Dragon School, with annual fees of £33,000, and then Headington School, where boarding fees can be as high as £50,000 a year.
In 1999, when she was nine years old, she was chosen to play the assertive and intelligent Hermione Granger after a lengthy audition process that lasted eight rounds. This decision instantly transformed her life. And more than twenty years later, that opportunity continues to be incredibly valuable and successful.
As someone who keeps a close eye on emerging talents, I’ve been following Watson’s journey. She began her studies at Lady Margaret Hall in 2023, and later transitioned to New College. It’s fascinating to see how she remains remarkably protected and somewhat removed from the everyday, or Muggle, world. It’s a unique upbringing, to say the least, and certainly shapes her perspective.
Outside of her creative writing studies or downtime at her large nine-bedroom house in the lovely Jericho area of the city, she’s often spotted enjoying simple picnics and painting by the river. She also attends elaborate five-course dinners put on by Bacchus, the wine society at Oxford University.
Okay, so everyone was *totally* buzzing about her being at that Piers Gav dinner last term, but honestly? It was what she was planning *after* that that really blew my mind. She was talking to her friends – and I *wish* I’d been one of them! – about starting this unbelievably cool, secret club. Get this: the whole point would be to have competitions to see who could leave a slipper on top of the tallest buildings in the city! I mean, how amazing is that?! It’s so perfectly *her*.
Following a driving ban for speeding in her Audi, she’s now a keen cyclist. She rented over a dozen bikes for a ‘party on wheels’ she organized during the summer, adorning the wicker baskets with flowers before she and her friends headed to The Perch, a charming riverside pub just outside the city.
She has reportedly been dating a few male students, including Kieran Brown, who is also a graduate student. This came after her breakup with Brandon Green, the son of Sir Philip Green, the former owner of Top Shop. She was seen kissing Kieran following the split.
Can you believe it? I’m 35 now, the same age J.K. Rowling was when she first walked the red carpet with little Emma Watson and those amazing young actors, Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint! It was at the Leicester Square premiere of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone back in November 2001 – a moment I’ve rewatched a million times! And thinking about it, Emma’s life now is just…a dream. It’s so different from what J.K. went through as a struggling writer and single mom when she *first* started to find success. It’s just incredible to me.
However, photos from that period demonstrate that Rowling genuinely adored the young actors who portrayed her characters in the films and quickly became very wealthy. The harsh criticism she offered this week would have been unthinkable at that time.
As the novelist expressed during a heated online post this week: ‘It’s difficult to lose the feeling of wanting to defend someone when you’ve known them since childhood. It’s hard to simply let go of that protectiveness.’
For a long time, I couldn’t shake the image of kids who needed a lot of encouragement while recording lines in a large, intimidating movie studio.
Throughout the ten years the Harry Potter films were made, Emma Watson played a role in all eight of them. The final film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, came out in July 2011. At that time, she was a student at Brown University in the US, studying English Literature. In 2014, when she graduated, she was accompanied by an armed bodyguard.
Remaining friends with Rowling, the 24-year-old at the time conducted an interview with her for Wonderland Magazine that same year, noting that the author was ‘funny, kind, warm and real’. She also began working with the UN as a Goodwill Ambassador for Women, championing their ‘HeForShe’ campaign to promote gender equality.
She stated at the time that women’s rights are extremely important to her, so much so that they are a core part of her identity and life experiences. She described the chance to work on them as incredibly exciting.
Previously, she and J.K. Rowling, known for her generous charitable donations totaling millions, seemed to share similar views on women’s rights. In the year 2000, she established the Volant Trust, an organization dedicated to helping women, children, and young people facing hardship in Scotland.
J.K. Rowling’s charity, Lumos, which she founded in 2005, works to eliminate the practice of placing children in institutions globally. The name, inspired by a light-giving spell from her Harry Potter series, reflects the charity’s mission. Emma Watson also previously supported the organization.
What led to the breakdown of the relationship between these two women, who could have just as easily been allies as adversaries? It’s a question of how things shifted from potential partnership to conflict.
The most recent photos of them together are believed to have been taken in August 2019, at a costume party celebrating J.K. Rowling’s 54th birthday.
Oh my gosh, you guys, I’m *still* losing it over this! Emma Watson, my queen, posted the *most* amazing picture on Instagram! She was dressed as Wonder Woman – can you even *imagine*?! – and she was with J.K. Rowling! Jo looked incredible in a velvet black dress, but get this… she had gory make-up on! It was such a cool look! Emma captioned it: ‘Sexy and scary! You smashed this. All the love to you, Jo. Happy Birthday!!!!’ I seriously can’t get over how much I love them both! It’s the best birthday post ever!
In June 2019, Rowling first publicly signaled her involvement in discussions about transgender issues by following Magdalena Berns on social media. Berns was a seriously ill, outspoken lesbian feminist who co-created For Women Scotland and actively opposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act 2004. Watson did not comment on this at the time.
She also didn’t respond when, in December 2019-only four months after her birthday celebration-Rowling posted the tweet that quickly thrust her into a major controversy surrounding gender identity.
She voiced her backing of Maya Forstater, a tax professional who was dismissed from her position following a tweet asserting that transgender women cannot alter their biological sex. She wrote on X: ‘Wear whatever makes you happy. Live your life peacefully. But should women be fired for simply stating that sex is a real biological factor?’
In June 2020, J.K. Rowling shared a link to an article titled ‘Creating a more equal post-Covid world for people who menstruate’, and added this comment: ‘People who menstruate’? I’m pretty sure there used to be a word for those people. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?
She explained: ‘If biological sex isn’t acknowledged, it disregards the real experiences of women worldwide. While I support and care for trans people, dismissing the idea of sex makes it difficult for many to talk about their lives in a significant way.’
The strong public reaction that followed resulted in a lengthy, 3,600-word essay where she explained her worries about what she called ‘new trans activism’ and the idea that ‘women must accept and admit that there is no material difference between trans women and themselves’.
Actor Daniel Radcliffe spoke out against J.K. Rowling’s opinions in a statement published on the website of The Trevor Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing suicide among LGBTQ youth. He has been a supporter of the organization for over ten years.
He stated in June 2020, ‘Transgender women are women‘. He added that any different claim “erases the identity and dignity of transgender people”. He also expressed being ‘deeply sorry’ to anyone who ‘feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished’ due to statements made by Rowling.
It seemed that when he publicly criticized the woman who launched his career, it encouraged Watson – who was already known for speaking up about topics like climate change, eco-friendly clothing, and racial justice – to do the same.
She posted on X, directly responding to Rowling, stating, ‘Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned.‘
Watson later supported and donated to Mermaids UK, a charity for transgender youth. The organization published a blog post titled ‘Gutted by JK Rowling, saved by Emma Watson’.
Last year, the Charity Commission instructed the organization to cease providing chest binders to children unless they had consent from their parents. They were also asked to more clearly explain the potential risks associated with puberty blockers.
The years which followed saw Rowling inundated with online hate amid accusations of transphobia.
In November 2021, after three transgender activists shared a photo of her Edinburgh home – unintentionally revealing her address – she stated she’d been flooded with threats of death, rape, and torture, saying ‘I could paper the house with them’.
During the intense online harassment directed at the author, Watson seemed to make a pointed remark. While presenting an award at the Baftas in March 2022, the actress stated she was there for ‘all the witches’, then seemingly muttered, ‘bar one’ under her breath.
Rowling stated this week that the comment was a ‘turning point for me’, but she also mentioned that the follow-up to it – ‘a postscript that hurt far more than the speech itself’ – was even more upsetting.
That postscript was the handwritten note Watson sent to Rowling through someone else, stating: ‘I’m so sorry for what you’re going through‘, despite the fact that she had Rowling’s phone number and could have simply called.
Rowling explained that this happened when she had to significantly increase her security due to concerns for her and her family’s safety. Despite Emma Watson having recently made the situation worse with her public statements, she apparently believed a simple expression of concern would be enough to show Rowling her genuine sympathy and kindness.
However, it was Jay Shetty’s comments during a recent conversation with Watson on the ‘On Purpose‘ mental health podcast that finally prompted Rowling to respond directly.
The new guidelines arrived five months after the UK Supreme Court determined that the words ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ within the 2010 Equality Act legally mean biological sex. Rowling called the ruling a ‘victory for common sense’.
Watson publicly addressed the situation in May with an Instagram post, sharing a quote from author Matt Haig: ‘I like me best when I am not ignoring fascism.‘
Recently, she seemed more willing to compromise when she explained to Shetty that backing the rights of transgender people didn’t change her feelings for the person who raised her. She wanted to assure Shetty that her support for trans rights didn’t mean she was against the woman who had shaped her life.
Just because I’ve had certain experiences and developed my own beliefs and feelings doesn’t mean I can’t still deeply care for and appreciate Jo. I absolutely still treasure her.
Oh my gosh, you won’t *believe* what J.K. Rowling said! She basically admitted she’s changing her strategy because, and I’m so happy to report this, everyone isn’t jumping to completely condemn me anymore! She thinks she realized that constant outrage just isn’t as trendy as it used to be. It’s like, finally, people are seeing things my way! She said it was ‘a change of tack I suspect she’s adopted because she’s noticed full-throated condemnation of me is no longer quite as fashionable as it was’, and honestly? It’s the best news ever! I’ve been following this so closely, and this feels like a turning point!
As a dedicated follower of this issue, I’ve also been reading the criticism aimed at Watson. Fiona McAnena, who leads campaigns for the human rights charity Sex Matters, put it really well, saying: ‘I think she’s going to find that you can’t sit on the fence.‘ It’s a simple but powerful point, isn’t it?
The actress – known for her roles in Beauty and the Beast and Little Women – hasn’t yet commented on the recent developments in her 26-year relationship with Rowling.
She explained to Shelly: ‘I simply don’t want to contribute to a debate that’s already very harmful and divisive. The current way people are discussing this feels deeply upsetting to me.’
It’s apparent that the argument between these two isn’t finished, even if Watson wishes she could magically make it disappear-perhaps by using Hermione’s wand and yelling ‘Expelliarmus!’-to end it quickly.
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2025-10-05 03:38