Social media went a little crazy last week when The Daily Mail reported that the Emma Watson’s career was now “dormant” in order to spend time with her rumoured fiancé, Leo Robinton.
The paper falsely claimed that the actor had “given up acting” which sent fans into a frenzy.
The Mail’s claims were affirmed by an unnamed source who said Watson was living “quietly” in Los Angeles with Robinton, who she has been together with for over a year now.
The source went on to say, “Emma has gone underground; she is settling down with Leo. They’re laying low. Maybe she wants a family.”
Online support
Supporters of the Harry Potter star took to Twitter to express their regret for what they perceived as Watson’s supposed ‘retirement’. Tributes were made to her career and fans connected over their favourite roles.
https://twitter.com/dob_styles/status/1364892233275764737
Emma Watson,
Thank you for being our Hermione, Belle, Nicki, Sam, Meg March & many more.
Thank you for your work, for being our muse & for being a role model.
I’m hoping one day you choose to return to film, but for now, I wish you all the best & we support & love you dearly. pic.twitter.com/X4pZ85obwd
— Nat | WAKANDA FOREVER | HOTD ERA ♥️ (@Brie_Sparkles) February 25, 2021
False claims
Only, she hasn’t retired.
Emma Watson’s manager, Jason Weinberg, told Entertainment Weekly in a statement: “Emma’s social media accounts are dormant but her career isn’t.”
Watson is obviously most famous for her portrayal of Hermione Granger in the eight Harry Potter films. She has, however, made a name for herself as an actor in some other well-known roles. The actor played Belle in Disney’s 2017 live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast and starred in teen-favourite The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
Rumours of her retirement were supported by the fact that the last time we had seen Watson on screen was in her role as Meg March in Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Little Women (2019).
Perhaps it’s pertinent to remember that we have been in a worldwide pandemic for the past year with many movie sets closing down until it is safe to film again.
As well as this, since starring in Harry Potter, Watson has been known to take breaks from acting for various reasons. She spent 18 months at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island as well as a year at Oxford University on a Visiting Student Programme.
Watson has dabbled in modelling and has always had a heavy focus on charity work and activism. She has been a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN since 2014 and was the face of the HeForShe Project.
Let’s not forget that people are allowed to take breaks from their work. Maybe Emma is stepping away from acting to focus on her relationship. Maybe she isn’t. Maybe it isn’t really any of our business.
Nia Thomas
Featured image courtesy of Jon Tyson via Unsplash. Image licence found here. No changes were made to the image.
Nia Thomas
Nia is a Gender Studies Masters student at the University of Sussex. Having recently graduated with a degree in Political Science, she is keenly interested in current affairs and stories concerning equality and diversity. Away from writing, she is an avid reader and lover of reality TV.