--- title: Emma Watson on Handling Criticism for Her Activism description: Find out how actress and UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson dealt with criticism over activism. canonical: https://time.com/4670675/emma-watson-feminist-critics/ author: Megan Lasher article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-14T20:23:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:04:48.538Z og:title: Emma Watson’s Critics Have 'Toughened' Her Up og:description: 'I am aware I have a long way to go' og:url: https://time.com/4670675/emma-watson-feminist-critics/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ef7b52f7686f22b/6988ba540a4a227f9b9ccf08/emma-watson-feminist-heforshe.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Women's March on Washington - Rally og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Emma Watson’s Critics Have 'Toughened' Her Up twitter:description: 'I am aware I have a long way to go' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ef7b52f7686f22b/6988ba540a4a227f9b9ccf08/emma-watson-feminist-heforshe.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Emma Watson’s Critics Have ‘Toughened' Her Up by [Megan Lasher](https://time.com/author/megan-lasher/) ## Megan Lasher Feb 14, 2017 8:23 PM UTC  Emma Watson attends the rally at the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Emma Watson attends the rally at the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC.Paul Morigi—WireImage/Getty Images by [Megan Lasher](https://time.com/author/megan-lasher/) ## Megan Lasher Feb 14, 2017 8:23 PM UTC [UN Women Goodwill Ambassador](http://www.unwomen.org/en/partnerships/goodwill-ambassadors/emma-watson) and actress [Emma Watson](http://motto.time.com/4507402/emma-watson-produces-feminist-olympic-inspirated-movie-about-hurdles/) has been an activist for some time now, but her dedication to championing human rights and gender equality [hasn’t always been met with open arms](http://motto.time.com/4514334/emma-watson-activist/). But in a new interview with _ELLE UK,_ the [_Beauty and the Beast_](http://motto.time.com/4344949/beauty-and-the-beast-live-action-2017/)star said that her critics have “really toughened” her up. “There is a level of criticism that comes with being an actress and a public figure, which I expect, but once you take a stance on something like feminism, that’s a completely different ball game,” said said. She’s also hesitant to speak out sometimes because she’s expected to be perfect: “I’m no expert, and when people push me into a corner of ‘here’s Emma Watson to lecture you on feminism,’ it’s uncomfortable because I am aware I have a long way to go. I am not sure I deserve all the respect I get yet, but I’m working on it.” And Watson definitely is working becoming [more knowledgeable](http://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/news/a43044/emma-watson-on-feminist-criticism-elle-uk-march-2017-interview/) on a range of topics, especially after taking time off from acting to focus on activism. “It wasn’t about me necessarily proving anything,” she said of her break. “I was just thinking that I have this year to myself, so let’s see what we can do to ‘move the needle’ and make a difference.” Read more at [ELLEUK.com](http://www.elleuk.com/life-and-culture/culture/longform/a33909/emma-watson-march-cover-star-style-awards-2017/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4670675/emma-watson-feminist-critics/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4670675/emma-watson-feminist-critics/"},"headline":"Emma Watson’s Critics Have ‘Toughened' Her Up","datePublished":"2017-02-14T20:23:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:04:48.538Z","description":"'I am aware I have a long way to go'","url":"https://time.com/4670675/emma-watson-feminist-critics/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ef7b52f7686f22b/6988ba540a4a227f9b9ccf08/emma-watson-feminist-heforshe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan Lasher","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-lasher/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ef7b52f7686f22b/6988ba540a4a227f9b9ccf08/emma-watson-feminist-heforshe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Women's March on Washington - Rally","caption":"Emma Watson attends the rally at the Women's March on Washington on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC.","creditText":"Paul Morigi—WireImage/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4670675/emma-watson-feminist-critics/","name":"Emma Watson’s Critics Have ‘Toughened' Her Up"}}]}] ```