Overview

• In a rare appearance on the On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast released Sept. 24, Watson balanced gratitude for Rowling with firm disagreement over transgender rights.
• Watson said she hopes to keep loving people she disagrees with and emphasized she is against the “throwing out of people,” stressing dignity and respect.
• She reiterated support for trans people and explained she avoids further public back-and-forth because she does not want to “weaponize a really toxic debate.”
• Watson clarified she has not quit acting, noting her last film role was in 2019 and that she remains open to returning after stepping back for her wellbeing.
• She grew emotional describing post–Harry Potter film sets as “bone-breakingly painful” for someone seeking genuine friendships, saying the rejection “broke” her; Rowling’s representatives did not immediately comment on her remarks.