Emma Watson has faced a backlash after her dig at Harry Potter author JK Rowling during her brief time on stage at the BAFTA film awards.
The 31-year-old actress, who rose to fame playing Hermione Grainger in the film adaptations of Rowling's book, took aim at the author over her stance on transgender issues.
Emma was on stage to introduce an award at the ceremony, last night at the Royal Albert Hall, with host Rebel Wilson saying: "Here to present the next award is Emma Watson. She calls herself a feminist, but we all know she's a witch."
When on stage, Emma then said: "I'm here for all the witches"
This seemed to be an apparent dig at JK Rowling over her statements about transgender women and the author hitting out at Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, after he criticised her, saying "trans women are women".
While Emma's comment was met with a rapturous response in the room, some viewers at home thought that the comment was below the belt and 'biting the hand that feeds her'.
Taking Twitter, one angry viewer tweeted: "She should count her lucky stars JK Rowling stuck with her. She owes her a heck of a lot, she needs to stop biting the hand that feeds".
Another wrote: "Emma Watson, a woman, the feminist that can't define what a woman is? The one that is famous because of JK".
While, a third added that Emma was "absolutely awful" and "so desperate to please her trans fans" that she has "s*** on all women & ironically the very woman who made her."
Emma's comments followed the accusations of transphobia that have been levelled at Rowling since she published an essay on her website which argued that biological sex is real, back in July 2020.
The author also said she was "a domestic abuse and sexual assault survivor".
After the essay, Rowling was labelled a TERF – trans-exclusionary radical feminist – and then in December last year, she argued that the "basis of decisions on safeguarding" should be made on sex and not gender identity.
As well as Emma condemning Rowling at the time, her Harry Potter co-stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Evanna Lynch also spoke out against the Harry Potter creator.
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