Emma Watson talks feminism, ‘raging’ anger over nude photo hoax

Emma Watson has responded to the threat of nude photos that hackers said they would leak if she continued her crusade for feminism.

The U.N. goodwill ambassador for women, who said she was “raging” over the threat, sat for a live interview on Sunday at the Facebook offices in the U.K. to promote the HeForShe campaign on International Women’s Day. The campaign encourages men to take a stand to stop gender inequality.

Last September, the “Harry Potter” alum helped launch the campaign at the United Nations and gave a moving speech on feminism and gender equality that was met with global support.

The 24-year-old said the response was positive overall -- to the point she felt she “could die happy” -- but acknowledged that after she gave her speech, the threat of the naked photographs being leaked was a prime example of what she was fighting for.

“I knew it was a hoax. I knew the pictures did’t exist. But I think a lot of people that were close to me knew gender equality was an issue but didn’t think it was that urgent ... or that it was a thing of the past,” she stated.

“When they saw that the minute I stepped up and talked about women’s rights I was immediately threatened -- I mean, within less than 12 hours I was receiving threats -- I think they were really shocked. ... It was like a wake-up call, like, ‘Oh, this is a really thing that is really happening now’ that women are really receiving threats in all sorts of different forms and that was just one specific one.”

Watson, whose “specific mandate is to advocate for women and girls,” said she was most upset that the media initially reported the existence of the photos as fact and “publicized something that was really negative.”

“It’s funny because people were, like, ‘She’s going to be disheartened by this.’ If anything it made me so much more determined. I was just raging, it made me so angry that I was, like, This is why I have to be doing this. If they were trying to put me off it, it did the opposite.”

Watson tapped her 30-million-person-strong Facebook fandom before giving Sunday’s talk and rehashed the point of the movement during the conversation.

“Our society in general devalues the she. And when I say that I mean the qualities of the feminine, which are found in all of us and as a result. ... It’s hindering our progress. It’s causing discrimination and violence, pain and fear the world over. I just wanted to [sensitize] people to the issues and make them feel that they could be part of the problem and they could make a difference,” Watson said.

“I asked my younger sister this morning, ‘What would be he one thing that you would want from the boys in your life?’ and she just went, ‘I just want them to want to play with us.’ And that translates at every level. We just want to be included.”

The actress encouraged women to feel comfortable enough to acknowledge that there is actually a problem and “understand that we are complicit.” Watson said that a lot of the harshest criticism she’s received has been from other women.

“It’s not just enough to ask men to come in and support us, we need to support each other.

Watson, who addressed the dichotomy between chivalry (or in her words, “politeness”) and sexism, also acknowledged that women were reluctant to join the movement.

“I think people associate it with hate -- with ‘man hate.’ And that’s really negative and I don’t think that’s what feminism is about at all. I think it’s something really positive. I’m aware of a lot more male feminists now ... people have come back to what the actual definition means, which is equality politically, culturally, socially, economically -- that’s it.”

She added that her goal is to reach as many people, specifically men, as possible.

“Men think [feminism] is a ‘women’ word, that it’s only for women. But it really just means that you believe in equality. And if you stand for equality, you’re a feminist — I’m sorry to tell you.”

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