Emma Watson fans might have to give up any dreams they may have had of getting a selfie with her --- the actress is opening up about her decision to not take photos with fans. As anyone who has ever been to a premiere screening of a Harry Potter movie or the midnight release of one of the magical books well knows, the fandom around J.K. Rowling's creation is not just intense, but obsessive, and now Watson feels that indulging in every fan who asks for a photo could compromise her privacy and security.
Emma Watson talked about the selfie-less decision in her new cover story for Vanity Fair. The actress detailed how privacy has become increasingly important to her as her career has continued to grow, but it's a tricky thing to maintain given that the Harry Potter fandom is so large and devoted, and social media makes even a brief stroll to the store without being recognized nearly impossible. One of the ways she is trying to keep a bit of her privacy is by asking fans to not take photos with her.
For me, it's the difference between being able to have a life and not. If someone takes a photograph of me and posts it, within two seconds they've created a marker of exactly where I am within 10 meters. They can see what I'm wearing and who I'm with. I just can't give that tracking data.
That may sound disappointing for you Emma Watson fans out there, but Watson went on to assure that just because she might refuse a photo op, she's still happy to spend time with her fans. Watson said that instead of a selfie, she will offer to chat about Harry Potter with fans who approach her.
I'll say, 'I will sit here and answer every single Harry Potter fandom question you have but I just can't do a picture.' I have to carefully pick and choose my moment to interact. When am I a celebrity sighting versus when am I going to make someone's freakin' week? Children I don't say no to, for example.
The decision to refuse photos with fans is not something unique to just Emma Watson; other major stars such as Justin Bieber and Amy Schumer have come forward in the past year to say that they will be refusing to take selfies with their fans. Bieber posted on Instagram that he had begun to feel like an animal in a zoo after taking so many photos with his fans, and Schumer wrote that an invasive fan who would not stop taking photos of her despite her protests is the reason she now refuses fan photos.
Though Emma Watson made clear that she's not fully comfortable with all the aspects of her fame, she's going to be bigger than ever soon after her Beauty and the Beast remake comes out in a few weeks. Just remember to put your cameras away if you happen to see her walking around.
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