Emma Watson has now responded to being called a “hypocrite” for her recent Vanity Fair photo shoot, in which she appears topless in one of the images.
The actress stated she was both “stunned” and “confused” at the heated responses from certain critics, including Julia Hartley-Brewer, who tweeted that Watson’s was showing double standards by questioning why she isn’t taken seriously as a feminist and yet shows her breasts in photographs.
Watson, a feminist and UN Goodwill Ambassador, explained feminism during an interview with her Beauty and the Beast co-star Dan Stevens:
“Feminism is about giving women choice. Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women with,” Watson told Reuters. “It’s about freedom. It’s about liberation. It’s about equality. I really don’t know what my t*** have to do with it. It’s very confusing. I’m confused. Most people are confused.”
“They were saying I couldn’t be a feminist and have boobs.”
Opinions have been shared on social media stating that Watson is a hypocrite, while others tweeted in her defense that feminism is about giving women the free choice to show their bodies as they wish.
In the same interview, Watson confirmed that she was satisfied with the editorial photographs that Tim Walker took for Vanity Fair‘s April issue. She is pictured in a holey cape just barely covering her chest.
“The shot itself, I was honestly slightly taken aback by it. We had been doing so many crazy things on that shoot, but it had really felt incredibly sort of artistic,” said Watson. “I had been so kind of like creatively involved and engaged with Tim and I was so thrilled with how interesting and beautiful the photographs were. But yeah, people have asked, and I’ve gone, ‘Is there a controversy about this?'”
“I didn’t know about this,” replied Stevens. “I just think the photos are great.”
