Justice

Women Defend Emma Watson Following Ridiculous Tabloid Column

September 26th 2016

A recent article attacking Emma Watson's position as a United Nations ambassador sparked outrage on social media — including the voice of another high-profile British actress.

Sophie Turner, who plays Sansa Stark on "Game of Thrones," called out the journalist behind the article, which was published in The Sun. The editorial scoffs at Watson's humanitarian efforts in the fight against gender inequality, calling her work "whining, leftie, PC crap."

Columnist Rod Liddle repeatedly mocks Watson's role as a UN Goodwill Ambassador, because she is an actress from the "Harry Potter" films. But other women on social media were quick to defend Watson against these jabs by pointing out Watson's (and Hermione Granger's) qualifications.

According to the UN website, Watson has been a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador for more than two years, serving as an advocate for UN Women’s HeForShe campaign. Her bio continues:

"At just 24 years of age, Emma has already been involved in the promotion of girls’ education for several years and previously visited Bangladesh and Zambia as part of her humanitarian efforts. She has worked to promote fair trade and organic clothing and served as an ambassador for Camfed International, a movement to educate girls in rural Africa."

This isn't the only time when an actress's advocacy has been dismissed.

Angelina Jolie, who is mentioned in the article, was a UN Goodwill Ambassador for more than a decade before expanding her role to become a special envoy, meaning she undertakes advocacy and represents the UN Refugee Agency and the High Commissioner at the diplomatic level. Recently, she came under fire for the timing of the announcement of her divorce from Brad Pitt, which was released during the first-ever UN refugee summit. Critics accused her of overshadowing the summit with her personal news.

But as the Huffington Post points out, "Jolie had no more control over the release of the divorce news than she did over the caustic responses directed her way. TMZ broke the news of her split from actor Brad Pitt, and Jolie’s lawyer simply confirmed it."

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