Emma Watson‘s gilded existence as a wealthy ‘ignorant’ movie star, was brutally laid bare by JK Rowling during a scathing critique of the Harry Potter actress.
The 35-year-old raked in an estimated £42million from her role as Hermione Granger in the live adaptation of Ms Rowling’s blockbuster fantasy series.
By the age of 14, she was already a multi-millionaire, having starred in just three of the first movies alongside co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint which is thought to have netted her around £4million.
Now studying for a masters degree at the University of Oxford, she lives a lavish lifestyle that her fellow academics could only dream of, relaxing in her opulent nine-bedroom mansion in the city’s affluent enclave of Jericho.
Believed to be skiing fan, Ms Watson also has a holiday home near the Meribel ski resort in the French Alps and was last month seen enjoying a stroll in Saint Tropez, a playground for the rich and famous, before jetting to Venice earlier this month.
The actress even appeared to blame her recent driving ban for speeding on her Hollywood lifestyle – and the fact she was chauffeured around as a teenager.
And despite a vast fortune estimated to be worth £63million, it’s unlikely Ms Watson was ever short of money as a young child; her lawyer parents paid for her to attend the prestigious £33,000-a-year Dragon School, whose alumni include comedian Jack Whitehall, tennis ace Tim Henman, politician Rory Stewart and actor Hugh Laurie.
The star has also ventured into her own business, founding a luxury grape-based gin, Renais with younger brother, Alex – with some of the grapes coming from their father’s French vineyard.
Ms Watson has also previously dated Brandon Green, the son of billionaire retail tycoon, Sir Philip Green, and has used her celebrity status to preach about gender equality, delivering speeches as the UN’s Women Goodwill Ambassador.
But in an unprecedented attack on Ms Watson, author Ms Rowling raged she was ‘ignorant of how ignorant she is’ and had ‘so little experience of real life’.
‘I wasn’t a multimillionaire at fourteen. I lived in poverty while writing the book that made Emma famous,’ the British writer wrote on X.
Harry Potter star Emma Watson faced a fierce broadside from the book’s creator, JK Rowling, who branded the 35-year-old actress ‘ignorant of how ignorant she is’ (she is seen in Venice on September 6)
It comes after a row over transgender rights between the pair escalated on Monday (Rowling and Watson are pictured at the world premiere of Deathly Hallows in 2011)
‘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.’
In by far her most personal criticism yet, Ms Rowling suggested the Paris-born actress had been blinded by wealth and privilege – and had never used a public changing room in a local swimming pool.
‘Like other people who’ve never experienced adult life uncushioned by wealth and fame, Emma has so little experience of real life she’s ignorant of how ignorant she is,’ Ms Rowling wrote during her lengthy take-down of the actress.
‘She’ll never need a homeless shelter. She’s never going to be placed on a mixed sex public hospital ward. I’d be astounded if she’s been in a high street changing room since childhood.
‘Her “public bathroom” is single occupancy and comes with a security man standing guard outside the door. Has she had to strip off in a newly mixed-sex changing room at a council-run swimming pool?’
The 60-year-old fantasy novelist’s brutal rebuke comes amid a bitter feud with Ms Watson over their differing views on trans rights, with the Harry Potter creator having now become one of the most prominent gender-critical voices.
Raging since 2020, the row has seen Watson going against the views of the woman who helped make her rich and famous.
However, last week Ms Watson appeared to offer an olive branch of sorts, by insisting she still ‘treasured’ the author, who she was close to growing up.
She told the Jay Shetty’s podcast it was her ‘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’.
Watson has an estimated fortune of £63million following her time in eight Harry Potter movies. She also attends Oxford university after graduating from Brown University in 2014 (pictured)
She also founded a luxury grape-based gin brand with her younger brother, Alex (pictured together), using some of the grapes from their father’s French vineyard
The former Harry Potter actress has also become a fashion icon, starring in campaigns for designer, Burberry (pictured in 2010)
She added she was ‘upset’ to have never been able to discuss the issue personally with Rowling, and said she would always ‘keep and cherish’ her time with the novelist.
But the comments appeared to enrage Ms Rowling, who took the extraordinary move to attack the actress, as well as criticising her co-stars Mr Radcliffe and Mr Grint.
The author previously vowed to ‘never forgive’ the trio of stars for having ‘cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights’, citing their support for the transgender movement.
In a statement on Monday, Ms Rowling said the trio had ‘every right to embrace gender identity ideology’ but attacked them for using their links to Harry Potter to serve as ‘de facto spokespeople’ for the ‘world I created’.
‘Emma and Dan in particular have both made it clear over the last few years that they think our former professional association gives them a particular right – nay, obligation – to critique me and my views in public,’ she added.
‘Years after they finished acting in Potter, they continue to assume the role of de facto spokespeople for the world I created.’
Ms Rowling went on to claim that Ms Watson’s recent claim that she still ‘treasures’ her was a cynical attempt to shift her stance after realising ‘full-throated condemnation of me is not as fashionable as it once was’.
‘Adults can’t expect to cosy up to an activist movement that regularly calls for a friend’s assassination, then assert their right to the former friend’s love, as though the friend was in fact their mother,’ she added.
Continuing her statement, Ms Rowling admitted she had found it ‘hard to shake’ a feeling of ‘protectiveness’ for people she had first met as child actors.
But she said Ms Watson’s declaration in a speech at the 2022 Baftas that she was ‘here for all the witches’ – which was widely interpreted as a dig against her gender critical views – had prompted a change of heart.
Ms Watson is now living in a nine-bedroom mansion in Jericho, Oxford’s affluent enclave known for its pastel-coloured Victorian terraces and bohemian vibe
Rowling also criticised other members of the Harry Potter cast, including stars Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint (pictured together with Rowling and Watson at the premier of Deathly Hallows Part 2 in 2011)
Pictured is Ms Rowling’s scathing attack on X, which focused predominantly on Ms Watson
‘For the past few years, I’ve repeatedly declined invitations from journalists to comment on Emma specifically, most notably on the Witch Trials of JK Rowling.
‘Ironically, I told the producers that I didn’t want her to be hounded as the result of anything I said. The television presenter in the attached clip highlights Emma’s ‘all witches’ speech, and in truth, that was a turning point for me, but it had a postscript that hurt far more than the speech itself.
‘Emma asked someone to pass on a handwritten note from her to me, which contained the single sentence ”I’m so sorry for what you’re going through” (she has my phone number).
‘This was back when the death, rape and torture threats against me were at their peak, at a time when my personal security measures had had to be tightened considerably and I was constantly worried for my family’s safety.
‘Emma had just publicly poured more petrol on the flames, yet thought a one line expression of concern from her would reassure me of her fundamental sympathy and kindness.’
Ms Rowling has received an outpouring of support following her post on X on Monday.
One person wrote: ‘I feel proud of you for standing up and voicing so clearly and unequivocally the affrontery, insult, hurt, and subdued anger most of us have felt at the hands of people we were once close to. You expressed it for all of us perfectly.’
Another added: ‘I’m really disappointed to see Emma behaving like this. In my view, she and the other cast members should feel lasting gratitude to J.K. Rowling for creating the Harry Potter world that launched their careers and made their current lifestyles possible.’
Daily Mail has approached Ms Watson’s representatives for comment.
