Everybody knows by now about the incredible work that Emma Watson has done for gender equality yet not everyone appreciates it.
Since starring in the eight Harry Potter movies as Hermione Granger between 2001 and 2011, she has gone on to do great things. She combined her work as an actor (The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Bling Ring, Noah) with her modelling career with Burberry and Lancôme as well as reading for a BA in English Literature at Brown University. She is now a Visiting Fellow at Oxford University.
Not only that, she was appointed a UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador in 2014 and helped launched HeForShe which calls for men to advocate for gender equality. Her speech to the UN in September of the same year has been seen over 10 milltion times on YouTube and Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2015.
You can check out her inspiring speech here:
Now 25, she is continuing to star in major films such as The Circle and Beauty and the Beast but she has set aside 2016 to concentrate on her activism.
So, do you think Emma cares about people calling her a ‘diva’ or a ‘feminazi’ for being vocal about the fight for gender equality? She doesn’t.
Emma is one of the cover stars of Esquire‘s Women & Men issue alongside actor Tom Hanks. In an interview with the magazine, she openly addresses the wage gap conversation that is dominating Hollywood right now and explained that she doesn’t care about being labelled a ‘feminazi’ for speaking out.
The ‘Harry Potter‘ star spoke earnestly and openly about it all “We are not supposed to talk about money, because people will think you’re ‘difficult’ or a ‘diva’. But there’s a willingness now to be like, ‘Fine. Call me a ‘diva’, call me a ‘feminazi’, call me ‘difficult’, call me a ‘First World feminist’, call me whatever you want, it’s not going to stop me from trying to do the right thing and make sure that the right thing happens’. Because it doesn’t just affect me, it affects all the other women who are in this with me, and it affects all the other men who are in this with me, too.”
She goes on further and says that men should embrace being called a ‘feminist’ despite the fact many shy away from it “They have this idea that it is about women competing with men, or being against men, or wanting to be men, which is a huge misconception. Women want to be women. We just wanted to be treated equally. It’s not about man hating.”
Excitingly, she made it very clear that she has no plans of slowing down when it comes to fighting for gender equality and equal pay in Hollywood and beyond “Hollywood is just a small piece of a gigantic puzzle but it’s in the spotlight,” she said. “Whether you are a woman on a tea plantation in Kenya, or a stockbroker on Wall Street, or a Hollywood actress, no one is being paid equally.”
Well, Emma has our support all the way and we can’t wait to see what she does next.
You can read the full interview in Esquire‘s April 2016 issue which is on sale right now.
Do you support Emma’s fight for gender equality? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @CelebMix!