She’s such a Jo! Emma Watson explained how Taylor Swift’s battle for ownership of her music resembles a story line in Little Women.
“It’s about believing in yourself and knowing your worth and owning your worth,” the Harry Potter star, 29, told Variety in an interview published on Friday, December 27. “Right now, the Taylor Swift situation is a great example of, you know, you’re young and you’re talented and someone wants to buy your work, but having ownership at the end of the day is super, super important because you don’t know what someone’s going to decide to do with that.”
Watson then compared the ordeal to rules from a classic board game. “I think people undervalue ownership,” she added. “You know when you play Monopoly and you have a decision and you want to own something or get cash fast. The way to win Monopoly, everyone, is to own stuff. I’m just saying.”
The Beauty and the Beast actress stars as Meg in Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Little Women. Meg’s sister Jo (Saoirse Ronan) asks for the copyrights to her novel in the film, which reminded Watson of Swift’s debacle. Timothée Chalamet (Laurie), Eliza Scanlen (Beth), Florence Pugh (Amy), Laura Dern (Marmee) and Meryl Streep (Aunt March) complete the cast.
As for the 30-year-old pop star, she first spoke out against Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta in June after the talent manager, 38, purchased her masters.
Swift blasted the executives again in November when she claimed they blocked her from performing her old hits at the 2019 American Music Awards. Big Machine denied the allegations, and the Grammy winner eventually moved forward with a nostalgic set at the awards show.
The “Lover” singer discussed the importance of owning her work in the January issue of British Vogue. “I think [writing] is really important — also from the side of ownership over what you do and make,” she said. “Even if you aren’t a natural writer, you should try to involve yourself in the messages you’re sending.”
Braun, for his part, broke his silence on the feud in November. “We’re inciting all of this by continuing these arguments in public. We just need to go behind closed doors and see if we can have a conversation,” he offered at the 2019 Entertainment Industry Conference. “And if we’re not having conversations, then I don’t think we’re going to find resolution.”
