Emma Watson Responds To Feminist ‘Hypocrisy’ Claims Over Her Beyonce Interview

Emma Watson has recently come under fire over her “topless” Vanity Fair photo with critics slamming her for “hypocrisy” on account of her reputation as a staunch feminist. The photo that went under scrutiny shows the Beauty and the Beast star wearing a skimpy white crocheted bolero jacket and nothing else.

One Julia Hartley-Brewer took to Twitter to condemn Watson for the “topless” photo, insinuating that it’s contrary to her feminist ideals.

“Emma Watson: ‘Feminism, feminism… gender wage gap… why oh why am I not taken seriously… feminism… oh, and here are my t**s!’ she tweeted.

People took up the cudgels for Watson via social media, with many pointing out that the Harry Potter actress expressing her sexuality doesn’t in any way dent her feminist credentials.

As Telegraph reported last week,Emma Watson herself responded to the criticisms, saying, “Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women. It’s about freedom, it’s about liberation, it’s about equality.”

“I really don’t know what my t–s have to do with it,” she added.

And just when everyone thought that the attacks on Watson were over, the Beyhive, somehow, gets stirred up.

While everyone was arguing over Watson’s feminist cred, Beyonce’s fans have unearthed a quote from an old interview of the actress which could contradict her empowering stance on feminism and ultimately brand her a hypocrite.

And Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan was more than happy to bring it up in his column, going so far as to call Emma Watson a “feminist fraud.”

But Emma used that very stick to beat Beyonce. That's my point. https://t.co/EEh83ayOUt

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) March 6, 2017

“The problem is that you haven’t always had this attitude to feminism and boob-flashing,” Piers said, talking about the time when Beyonce released videos for her self-titled album in 2013.

Piers said that Emma Watson insinuated that Beyonce’s videos for the album were in conflict with the singer’s stance as a feminist.

“As I was watching, I felt very conflicted,” Watson was quoted as saying to Wonderland magazine in 2014. “I felt her message felt very conflicted in the sense that on one hand, she is putting herself in a category of feminist, but then the camera, it felt very male, such a voyeuristic experience of her.”

Basing his opinions on a few words lifted from an interview done years ago, Piers Morgan, as is his wont, went all out on Emma Watson, the Digital Spy reports.

“It was no accident that she chose to take off her clothes and parade topless under a skimpy white crocheted bolero jacket. She knew exactly what she was doing.

“By posing for this Vanity Fair photo, she exposed not just her breasts.

“She also exposed herself to some as a feminist fraud, someone who professes to want other women to have the ‘freedom and liberation’ to decide how they behave as feminists, but who actually wants to dictate to them how they behave as feminists.”

Not long after Morgan’s Twitter attack against Watson, the actress took to Twitter to address the criticisms against her on account of her past comments on Beyonce, as reported by The Evening Standard. Her tweet came with a copy of the 2014 interview in question, but with some key statements highlighted to emphasize how her words were taken out of context.

This is the part of my 2014 interview with Tavi where we talked about Beyoncé. My words are in bold. pic.twitter.com/Y8vumOeyDT

— Emma Watson (@EmmaWatson) March 7, 2017

The second part of the interview Watson has highlighted reads as follows.

“…she does make it clear that she is performing for him. And the fact she wasn’t doing it for a label, she was doing it for herself and the control that she has directing it and putting it out there, I agree is making her sexuality empowering because it is her choice.

“The second is that I would say you do get sense of, ‘I can be a feminist, I can be an intellectual, I can be all these other things, but I can also be ok with my femininity and being pretty and with all these things that I thought might negate my message or negate what I am about.’ That really is the most interesting thing about the album. It is so inclusive and puts feminism and femininity and female empowerment on such a broad spectrum.”

In the highlighted statement, Watson acknowledges that while she’s feeling “conflicted” about the way Beyonce portrayed herself in the videos, she explained that in the final analysis, the videos empowered Beyonce’s sexuality because “it is her choice.”

Piers Morgan hasn’t responded directly to Emma Watson’s Twitter response but chose to continue taking subtle digs at the actress on his Twitter account.

[Featured Image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]