Emma Watson ‘Stunned’ By Vanity Fair Backlash, Says Her Breasts Have Nothing To Do With Feminism

“Beauty and the Beast” star Emma Watson looked very provocative in her new Vanity Fair cover shoot, since she wore a cape that exposed part of her breasts.

Unfortunately, not everybody approved of her decision. Pret-a-Reporter even published a piece questioning, “Is actress and feminist Emma Watson a hypocrite for going topless in Vanity Fair?”

As an ambassador for gender equality, people look up to the actress as the epitome of feminism. But this decision to go topless made some people question her credibility.

Watson said during an interview with Reuters that she is “quietly stunned” by the furor made by the public. “Feminism is about giving women choice,” she said. “Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women with. It’s about freedom. It’s about liberation. It’s about equality. I really don’t know what my [breasts] have to do with it.”

Another criticism that Watson addressed involved the Stockholm Syndrome, a condition in which hostages feel drawn to trust and feel affection toward their captors. Some said they believe “Beauty and the Beast” glorifies the syndrome, but Watson would beg to differ.

“Belle actively argues and disagrees with [Beast] constantly. She has none of the characteristics of someone with Stockholm Syndrome because she keeps her independence, she keeps that freedom of thought,” she explained to Entertainment Weekly.

In fact, Belle went out of her way to give the Beast “hell.” “She gives as good as she gets,” explained Watson. “He bangs on the door, she bangs back. There’s this defiance that ‘You think I’m going to come and eat dinner with you and I’m your prisoner — absolutely not.’ I think that’s the other beautiful thing about the love story. They form a friendship first and that gap in the middle where there is this genuine sharing, the love builds out of that, which in many ways I actually think is more meaningful than a lot of love stories, where it was love at first sight.”

“Beauty and the Beast” will hit cinemas on March 17.