This story is pretty much full of crap, but the speculation as to why Emma Watson took leave from Brown University has yet to end. Officially, Emma’s take on the matter is that she dropped out because she’s such a perfectionist, but the more likely story is that she jumped at the convenient excuses of her continuing Harry Potter promotional committments as well as becoming the new “face” of Lancome.
Still, certain sources insist that a more sinster reason, bullying, is responsible for Emma’s quick departure in the middle of a semester. While it is true that Emma was stalked by Harvard jackasses during her first semester at Brown, the actress has also made it abundantly clear that she’s had very little trouble adjusting to university life and has experienced very little interference from other students. On Letterman, Emma talked a bit about the culture gap in reference to confusing certain words like “plaster” and “bandaid” along with with “rubber” and “eraser” but that Brown students didn’t bother her at school because she’s famous because “They’re all too cool for that.” However, the NY Daily News has persisted in perpetuating the bullying myth in relation to Emma Watson:
Emma Watson feels Hermione Granger’s pain: It’s hard being smart.
The Brit beauty might not have magic powers, but a source close to Brown University (where Watson was enrolled from fall 2009 until this past winter) tells us the star’s brainy ways may have led to her classmates’ heckling – and perhaps a reason why she left the Providence, R.I., institution.
The insider says Watson didn’t shy away from class participation and often would “answer something in class and get it right,” calling the 21-year-old actress “really smart.” Unfortunately, this brought out the sophisticated wit and cinematic expertise of her Ivy League peers.
According to the source, her classmates “would respond [to her answer] with a quote from ‘Harry Potter.'” The most popular choice was “Three points for Gryffindor!” – a reference to the movie’s dormitory system, and a congratulatory phrase in the films when a student got a correct answer.
Maybe normalcy never had a chance: Another insider says Watson’s freshman roommate was forced to sign strict confidentiality agreements before moving in with the star.
[From NY Daily News]
CB mentioned her belief that this story is probably a hoax, and I tend to agree because I honestly don’t think that U.S. Ivy League students would even care enough about Harry Potter enough to continue such a lame joke in class on an ongoing basis. Naturally, the Daily Mail has also picked up on the story as if it’s the absolute truth, but Emma has actually denied that anyone in her Brown classes has ever pulled this stunt:
Is it true that someone yelled “10 points to Gryffindor” after you answered a question correctly in a lecture hall at Brown, where you’re a sophomore? –Brent Cronin, BOTHELL, WASH.
Watson: No. Actually, I’m really glad that he asked. That has never happened to me. Maybe someone said it under their breath, but I’ve never, ever had anyone say that when I’ve been in a class.
[From Time]
After reviewing the above conflicting points of view, the only perspective that matters is that Emma herself has indicated that university life and all of its trappings were quite good to her. It’s merely a simple matter of her having better things to do with her life at this point. I do hope she returns and follows through with her undergraduate studies. Although she doesn’t technically need an education because she’s already financially set for life after the Harry Potter franchise, staying in college should at least help to keep her from falling into the life of a drunken starlet. She’s far too smart for that sort of lifestyle.
Photos of Emma Watson shooting a Lancome commercial courtesy of Fame Pictures
That’s cuz they yelled “3 points for Griffins’s hoar”! Yes it’s Friday and I can’t wait for my weekend to start. sue me. ;-P
My reaction to the headline was ‘oh god, here we go again with the bullying’. Sorry, but this is such a tired subject.
I’m really not loving her hairstyle. I think it’s a great look for someone with a different face, but hers is so youthful, so cherubic, so delicate, the slicked-back short hair just seems too harsh.
She doesn’t have beautiful legs. Natalie Portman also doesn’t have beautiful legs. Interesting.
However, according to my friend who was a child actress then when turning 19, attended college like Emma/Natalie, she told me that what they do in this kind of school is silent bullying. They just ignore her pretending that she doesn’t exist, because they think it’s shallow to be associated with “celebrity.” She ate lunch alone in her car every day.
She looks gorgeous in those pics.
Good for her for shooting this lame story down. As an Ivy-Leaguer, I don’t generally hold my former classmates to very high standards of respect and dignity, but yeah, they’re WAY too cool for that level of garbage.
I really wish she would have stayed in school – but she must make her own decisions for what she feels is right for her. I don’t understand why Lancome chose her as a spokesperson – I know they want to attract a younger consumer but Emma really isn’t chic & sexy like they are trying to portray – it seems so forced.
I love that leather biker jacket so much. I love the way it’s so structured around the waist.
She has years and years to work on her eduction. Her shelf life as an actress and spokesperson may be more limited. She’ll have to figure out a mix that works for her.
Yeah, that didn’t happen. And do you know why it didn’t happen? Because I don’t go to Brown.
So tired of hearing about bullying. Bullying has been going on since the beginning of time & it is not going to end anytime soon. People need to buck up & learn how to solve their own problems instead of relying on authorities to handle everything. People seem to be getting weaker & less self-sufficient instead of growing & evolving.
She’s beautiful. I like the short hair on her.
That said, if someone yelled “Ten points for Gryffindor” I would rolling on the floor laughing! That’s just too funny! 😀
I don’t buy this story! I doubt something so benign would make her drop out of university!
@ spinner:
Have you ever been bullied? I have. Sometimes it’s not as easy as just “buck up & learn how to solve their own problems instead of relying on authorities to handle everything”. Groups of people who bully others create mob mentality and get much more violent than they ever would if they were on their own. It starts as heckling but, more often than not, it gets violent. It wasn’t my choice to get authorities involved. My parents found out and insisted we get the cops involved. All it takes is one person in the mob to get the idea to hang you from a coat hook or have a bad day and beat you senseless. Shit happens so fast. It’s smarter to get authorities involved.
@Spinner:
I doubt you’ve been truly bullied. Like junk573r, I have. And no 7 year old should have to “toughen up” when kids are vicious and violent. Why do we ridicule people who are hurt, and not the people doing the hurting? Why can’t we tell the hurters to develop compassion, instead of telling the victims to stop being so weak?
The only thing I can say is my ex boyfriend went to Brown, and while he loved it, the people up there are SUPER pretentious. I went to a state public school, and when I’d go up to visit him (he played sports), you’d swear I was like, the “to be pitied” child that grew up in an orphanage. Ivy Leaguers can be dbags.
I was bullied terribly in grade school & high school. It taught me many things & it also taught the people that were bullying me. They learned from how I reacted to them. Granted, some bullying gets way out of hand but it just seems people can’t think for themselves anymore & pull the poor me card way too often. Why do you think our Government has gotten way too big??
I don’t see that as bullying and I don’t understand why she would be so testy about a series that made her into what she is now. Second, she did sign up to make a commitment to go to school and she took up a spot that could have gone to a student who would have made a more significant commitment to go and stay and study. I also don’t see bullying as the reason, but as an excuse for failing to follow through on her commitment she signed up for. This doesn’t sound like a good way to explain things.
She initially stated she wanted to focus on her career. Then she stated she was ‘too much of a perfectionist’ and now it’s bullying. Which is it? The stuff about “Three points for Gryffindor” is actually hilarious and I don’t see why that should upset her. Why? Considering her bank account, I for one would simply laugh it off and go back to my posh apartment. She likely just signed up to look smart, realized that it would require actual attendance, and now she’s leaving and for some reason insists on smearing a university student body so she doesn’t look bad.
I’ve been viciously bullied and I don’t see how this is vicious.
I know the “10 points for Gryffindor” happened at least once, by a professor. A friend of a friend was in the class when it happened.
@sakota Emma never said she was bullied. In fact, if you read the article, it states here that she said the exact opposite of that. This is just some dumb tabloid trying to make something out of nothing.
Personally, I think she’s made the right choice in taking a year off. She will be very busy promoting the last Harry Potter film this year, most likely too busy to deal with school on top of her work commitments. Besides, Emma has spent the last ten years of her life with the HP gang. She’s probably spent almost as much time with them as she has with her family at this point. I’m sure there have to be some personal feelings and sadness at ten years of continual togetherness coming to an end. I mean, those kids have pretty much grown up together. I’m sure wrapping this series won’t be quite like wrapping any other project.
Being that this is the last time they will all work together, I would take the time off go enjoy the end of an era too. She can always go back to school. But, this will be the last time she has Harry Potter.
Lesson for the day: our government got too big because of bullying.
not a drunken starlet? its been a long time since you went to college im guessing lol. all college students drink. i’ve never been to brown, but i can tell you that harvard students party harder than any other colleges i know!
One of the things I hear time and again about bullying in schools is that kids need to experience it because it’ll prepare them for “the real world”. And that justification is total BS because “the real world” is actually more civilised than the school environment. If you get bullied at work there’re anti-bullying laws that can come into effect, if someone physically assaults you at work it’ll result in instant dismissal and they’ll be charged with assault, whereas in the school yard they might be given a detention. Also, if you’re bullied at school, either physically or by exclusion, you’re pretty much stuck with it but if people in “the real world” (outside of work) treat you like crap you can just cease contact with them. So yeah, some of the crap that kids have to put up with in school is much worse than anything adults would tolerate in “the real world”
What an idiotic story. The idea that Brown students would be jealous of anyone for being smart just shows that the author of the article is dumb and clueless about American college culture these days. I know it’s one of the least known ivies, but you still need to be smart as hell to go there. Or to any college that doesn’t hand out MRS degrees for that matter.
The whole POINT of college is to become smarter. It’s not some mean girl bullying high school drama crap. Even the smallest college campuses have enough students that you can avoid someone who’s giving you a hard time. And even then, it’s not bullying. It’s someone being an asshole and you need to put your big girl panties on and tell them to eff off. If it continues after that, you have plenty of resources available, whether they involve the school’s administration, mental health services, or law enforcement. If you don’t take advantage of said resources, it’s your fault for wallowing in self-pity without doing anything about it. There is no hand-holding in college; you need to grow up and be an adult and handle your problems like an adult should.
um, you need to be able to do well on tests and class exams [to get into ‘ivies’]. that is not the same as ‘being smart as hell’…
to bad our class system is so ingrained that people mistake book smart for intelligence. not saying they are mutually exclusive, but ppl seem to think your harvard or brown degree equates automatically with ‘smart’. guess it depends what kind of smart.
pretention in academia is a funny kind of irony, isn’t it?
too often leads to pretention in ‘real life’, from said ppl, as well.
depends on one’s goals….
I think that is sad that in America, a good majority of the people who are afforded the opportunity of pursuing ivy league education are the ones who really don’t even need as a means to have a career.
Actually Emma’s rep released a statement that she’s transferring to another school not dropping out of college. Even if she did dropout I don’t know why that’s such a horrible thing. Most child celebrities don’t go to highschool nevermind college. Good for her for attending at all.
Stay in school or take a break to make millions of dollars while your star is still up there, hmmm…. Yeah, I’d take a break too.
Question: Who benefits from this PR angle of Emma as bullying victim?
Answer: ???
Do her legs really look that bad or is it the shoes?
I like her legs and I think her hair could use a bit more life but what do I know im no hair specialist…
and that whole bullying thing is way over talked about…dhe says it didnt happen so why must everybody compare it with their life in school…
is it an issue yes but it will never stop even in the “real world”.
@ Lia (comment #26)
It’s those terrible ankle-booties that make Emma’s legs look chunky and short. Ankle-booties make everyone’s legs look chunky and short, even supermodels’!!! 🙂
@Shannon,
Sorry I disagree. Even graduate students in the U.S. can be quite immature at times. I don’t doubt they would have felt a sense of territorialism about her being there. They would have spent their lives studying and saving to get in and have this elitist mentality, and here comes this actress. At least they didn’t do it to where she knew about it, and it’s often just one or two bad apples.
There really is a lack of basic reading comprehension going on here. Emma Watson NEVER said she was bullied. She, in fact, said quite the opposite. Read beyond the title of the post before you start attacking her for saying something she never said.
@TQB, Penn Alum here. Which university did you attend?
I have to agree with those who’ve pointed to the pretension of ivy leaguers. They don’t take too kindly to those who use fame and/or connections to “buy” their way in. I had a class with Ivanka Trump, who never showed up. The professor made it a point to let us know that she was advised Ivanka receive no less than a B. She too resented that privledge can buy one an education.
I find the poster above me unbelievable. This person went to school with Ivanka Trump and graduated from a great Ivy League school but spelled “privilege” wrong?
Team Ivanka. That spelling was way too far off, Baby.
Wait. That’s one of the funniest things I have ever heard. If I was her I probably would have cracked up still.
Ignoring someone especially a celebrity could still be bullying. Other than that see looks pretty and gorgeous with her hair.
Re: Ivy League students from the States wouldn’t behave this way… I disagree, I dated someone in a really esoteric doctorate program at Cornell for quite a while, and those people are capable of a LOT that you would not expect. Also, many young adults living that type of precious life aren’t very socially adept, and may have been awkwardly starstruck.
Personally I support Emma putting off school while she’s younger, for whatever reason. The “school of life” (sorry for the cliche) will make her a better student when she returns, which I think eventually she will… If she was a successful student at Brown, she won’t just blow off her education forever.
You do know that the ‘mature’ Brown students photoshopped her head on a topless woman’s body which then circulated the entire university and must have been shared further than just Brown? I think that is the worst form of bullying when some sick pervert does this for laughs. As far as I could tell from her photographs from Brown, she was happy, low-key and just your average freshman.
I just want to say…
YES WE CAN BE IMMATURE ASSHOLES. I’m in graduate school (if you’re not familiar with my other posts, it’s a clinical psych program), and we can get petty…mean…cut throat. That’s how it is sometimes. Ripping out pages from books in the library that are on reserve for the class? Seen it happen. People “misplacing” other people’s things (DSM, path books, calculators, testing equipment)…YUP. It’s also a lot of gossip all the time. Just because everyone in my program is smart AND intelligent (they do well on tests and are smarter than the average bear)…it doesn’t prevent anyone from being a dick.
Edit: Also, professors can be just as bad, sometimes even worse, than the students. Graduate professors? They loooooovvveee making sure that grad students know they are nothing. Ha
She is extremly goodlooking, rich, smart, talented and nice? Bad combination for an ivy league snake hole. But she will be well, nevertheless, no doubt about that.
Team Emma on this one.
@truthzbetta, pardon the typo. I’ve been functioning on 3-4 hours sleep, as I just gave birth to my second child. I am, in fact, a Penn alum and I find it strange that you would would question my intelligence and the validity of my “story” based on a typo. I guess George Bush didn’t REALLY graduate from Harvard because he is two steps shy of a troglodyte?
If the bloggers here read Hara Estroff Marano’s book “A Nation of Whimps” they’d be horrified how immature Ivy League students or any other US students could be and what kind of problems they have to battle of at college
Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t Mark Zuckerberg a Harvard student when he created “Facemash”? Even though I’m not American, I still know Harvard is Ivy League and I’m pretty sure that Facemash, given it rated people semi-pubicly on hotness, constitutes a form of bullying. Pretty sure that the same cross section of immaturity and jealousy occurs in Ivy League schools just as it does in general society.
Incidentally, it doesn’t sound like she was bullied. Her shelf life for making a fortune from endorsements like Lancome is pretty short, so she may as well do it while she can.
i really don’t get why you ladies are always shit-talking emma for taking a break from brown. it’s not at all unusual. most of my friends have taken at least a semester off and i just finished my first semester back after a two year absence.
i think we put too much pressure on people to follow the four year plan, and you know what, sometimes life gets in the way. sometimes you realize you’re still following a childhood dream which you no longer desire and you need to re-evaluate. sometimes other students are assholes, and in my experience, the ivy league ones are often worse. everyone’s experience is different, and personally i think she should be commended for attending a university in the first place instead of becoming the next dumb-ass socialite with no legitimate aspirations.
maybe she’ll return, maybe she won’t. either way, we don’t know why and berating the girl doesn’t do anything but offend those of us who have had similar experiences.
i’m not trying to be an ass, and i’m usually of the mind that “if you don’t like the article, don’t read it”, but i’m just getting tired of reading this particular angle on the emma watson leaves brown thing. i don’t even get why it’s relevant to report on anymore.
Lee I agree with you
I was bullied as an undergrad at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ by its phd students. This is clearly not an ivy league school, but certain departments believe themselves to be a part of the ivy league. Quite delusional. Seeing rumors Emma was bullied in this way does put things in perspective.
If you are being bullied at school you absolutely must involve the authorities (teacher of the class and dept chair-even though these people already know you are being harassed) otherwise things will get worse before they get better if jealous, insecure liars are hounding you.
Also, professors will involve themselves in the bullying if given the opportunity. Academics are slimy cowardly snakes – but sorry I’m ranting.
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Hi, Laurence! It turns out your geometry teacher was right (you do need geometry in real life!). The hood piece is a right triangle w/2 equal sides, so the depth of the hood (corner to center of CO edge) will be half the length of the CO side. So if you add an extra 16 st/4 when you cast on, then you should get an extra 2 of depth.