The internet’s collective memory is long—and often petty. Just days after HBO unveiled the full cast for its upcoming Harry Potter reboot series, an old Emma Watson quote has resurfaced as fans revisit interviews before bidding the original cast farewell.
“Like incest,” that’s how the actress described her long-awaited on-screen kiss with fellow cast member Rupert Grint in an interview.
“It was the most horrible thing I’ve ever had to do,” she added, forever ruining the moment for many fans, who now, upon rewatching the scene, can’t unsee how Watson, embodying Hermione, was squirming with disgust.
Fans are remembering how Emma Watson once said kissing Rupert Grint felt “like incest”
Image credits: Emma Watson
The now-viral quote originated from Watson’s 2009 appearance on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, when she addressed the much-hyped kiss between Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger that people were eventually able to witness in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.
Jonathan Ross pointed out how the two actors had known each other since they were nine. So when the scene—ten years in the making—finally arrived, Watson said it was anything but magical.
Image credits: Harry Potter / Warner Bros.
“Actually we did the kiss two weeks ago,” the then 19-year old actress said, describing her disgust at having to film the scene.
“Not because Rupert isn’t lovely, and there are millions of girls out there who would probably chop their left arm off to kiss him,” she said at the time. “But it just felt like incest. That’s the only way I can describe it.”
Image credits: Harry Potter / Warner Bros.
The word “incest” made waves across media at the time, and the interview was thus periodically brought time and time again. Watson clearly didn’t mean it literally, but metaphorically, as she felt she was kissing her honorary sibling after a decade of shared puberty.
Image credits: Harry Potter / Warner Bros.
Still, the phrasing was enough to make the internet recoil.
“Did I watch the wrong Harry Potter?” one viewer recently joked.
“I never saw Hermione and Ron as brother and sister so it was never incestuous to me… but I had crushes on my childhood friends so I don’t see how it was anything out of the ordinary,” another added.
Rupert Grint agreed with his co-star, adding that they had to repeat the kiss several times
Image credits: Harry Potter / Warner Bros.
The kiss between Ron and Hermione takes place in the Chamber of Secrets during the decisive Battle of Hogwarts. After Ron heroically suggests warning the house-elves in the kitchen, Hermione couldn’t help but throw herself at him.
“The great thing about kissing is that you close your eyes,” Watson told Ross. “So it was fine when I was actually kissing him because I had my eyes closed… The worst bit is when we had to open our eyes and look at each other.”
Years later, in 2011, Grint echoed her discomfort. “It seemed like the most unnatural thing to do—to kiss this person I’d known since she was nine,” he explained in an interview with Attitude.
“It’s quite full-on, a proper snog. We’re soaking wet as well—they dumped gallons of water on us and then we just went for it.”
The Ron Weasley actor said that it wasn’t just one kiss, but many, as they had to reshoot the scene multiple times.
“We laughed a lot and it took us a while to concentrate. We did it about four times.”
Watson’s anecdote angered some fans who wanted to believe the moment was magical for both characters and actors
Image credits: Getty Images
The moment was referenced once again in HBO’s Return to Hogwarts special, where fellow cast members recounted how “everyone wanted to be on set” to watch the finished scene for the first time—and tease Watson and Grint about it.
“I did not make this better,” Daniel Radcliffe admitted. “I was just being an absolute d**k about this and was like, ‘I’m gonna come on set and watch you guys kiss.’ I’m sorry about that, guys.”
Image credits: Dave M. Benett / Getty
Immediately after the interview, both news outlets and fans pounced on Watson, criticizing her for talking about her co-star using terms like “horrible” and “incest.” The vitriol got so loud that the actress had to address it in an article with Movies Ireland.
“It sounds as if I’m saying it’s horrible because it’s Rupert. Of course, he’s gorgeous looking… It’s purely the fact that he’s like my brother,” she said.
“We were both totally in the same boat. I’m sure he will tell you exactly the same thing. It was very strange and very weird.”
Image credits: Harry Potter / Warner Bros.
With the new cast for HBO’s version of the Wizarding World revealed, fans are closing the chapter on these awkward, endearing moments from the movies—and bracing for whatever stories the next trio of kids will bring.