By India McTaggart

Copyright independent

The actor, who played Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter film series, claimed that it was her “deepest wish that I hope people who don’t agree with my opinion will love me, and I hope I can keep loving people who I don’t necessarily share the same opinion with”.

Her remarks are an apparent softening of her position after she and her co-stars, Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint, spoke out against the author’s criticisms of trans ideology.

Rowling (60) has faced a years-long backlash – including death threats – for expressing her belief that biological men cannot become women.

She has since become one of the most prominent gender-critical voices in the public sphere.

In the wake of criticism from the three Harry Potter actors, she indicated she could not forgive them for “cosying up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights”.

When asked last year if she could ever forgive the stars, Rowling suggested that they “save their apologies for traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single-sex spaces”.

I think the thing I’m most upset about is that a conversation was never made possible

In an interview with the podcast On Purpose with Jay Shetty, Watson (35) said she was -“upset” that she was never able to have a discussion with -Rowling about it. She added that she would always “keep and cherish” her time with the novelist.

“I think the thing I’m most upset about is that a conversation was never made possible,” Watson said.

When asked if she remained open to having that dialogue one day, she said: “Yeah, and I always will.

“I believe in that. I believe in that completely.”

The actor added: “I really don’t believe that by having had that experience and holding the love and support and views that I have, mean that I can’t and don’t treasure Jo and the person that I had personal experiences with… I just don’t think these things are either/or.”

She also appeared to speak out against cancel culture, saying: “I guess where I’ve -landed it, it’s not so much what we say or what we believe, it’s how we say it.

“I just see this world right now where we seem to be giving permission to this throwing out of people, or that people are disposable. I will always think that’s wrong.”

Following Watson’s comments, Rowling shared a social media post about people “who may be regretting their very public sprint to the front of the mob”.

In a statement on X, the -author cited a lengthy post she made in support of the UK -Supreme Court’s ruling that sex is rooted in biological sex and that trans women are legally not women. (© Telegraph -Media Group Holdings Ltd)