Emma Watson, former nerd witch and current Disney princess, is on the cover of this month’s Vanity Fair looking exactly like you’d expect someone who told Disney to ‘feminist up’ their latest fairytale to look: chic, delicate, but with a fierce up-do and statement brows.
The interview – with Vanity Fair stalwart and long-time mate Derek Blasberg – covers everything from her fledging transformation from child star to adult celebrity, her feminist work with the UN via HeForShe, and her intense need for privacy (she refuses to talk about her boyfriend, and says she bought her house unseen because it had a paparazzi-proof gate).
But it also contains some bad news for Watson fans: no selfies.
“For me, it’s the difference between being able to have a life and not,” she says. “If someone takes a photograph of me and posts it, within two seconds they’ve created a marker of exactly where I am within 10 meters. They can see what I’m wearing and who I’m with. I just can’t give that tracking data.”
VF writes that sometimes, she’ll decline a photo but offers a chat, which imo is insanely better. Apparently, people will often decline, proving that total psychos exist in this world of ours.
“I’ll say, ‘I will sit here and answer every single Harry Potter fandom question you have but I just can’t do a picture’” she says. “I have to carefully pick and choose my moment to interact. When am I a celebrity sighting versus when am I going to make someone’s freakin’ week? Children I don’t say no to, for example.”
A photo of Watson posing with a titchy kid dressed as Harry Potter for Halloween in 2015 went insanely viral, so fair enough she doesn’t want that kind of attention happening on the daily.
But obviously, the fan obsession for Watson – i.e. the IRL Hermione Granger – goes far, far beyond what is normal for most celebrities.
“I have met fans that have my face tattooed on their body. I’ve met people who used the Harry Potter books to get through cancer. I don’t know how to explain it, but the Harry Potter phenomenon steps into a different zone. It crosses into obsession. A big part of me coming to terms with it was accepting that this is not your average circumstances.”
[VF writes that Watson has had numerous experiences with stalkers.]
“People will say to me, ‘Have you spoken to Jodie Foster or Natalie Portman? They would have great advice for you on how to grow up in the limelight.’ I’m not saying it was in any way easy on them, but with social media it’s a whole new world. They’ve both said technology has changed the game.”
So if you see a Watson in the wild, say hi – but don’t be a dick about it.
Photo: Vanity Fair.
