Emma Watson had high praise for MTV’s move to remove gender qualifiers for its Movie and TV Awards.
In accepting the award for her role as Belle in Disney’s live-action version of “Beauty and the Beast” on Sunday night, Watson said “empathy and the ability to use your imagination should have no limits.”
The comments from the British actress won praise from many on social media, but drew a rebuke from Piers Morgan, the former CNN talk show host who now hosts “Good Morning Britain” on ITV.
Morgan said he could not think of a better recipient than Watson, who he called a “flag bearer for all things gender neutral.” He said the genderless categories mean women will probably win fewer awards because “there’s more male actors.”
Nostalgic horror sensation “Stranger Things” and “Beauty and the Beast” shared the spoils at the MTV Movie and TV Awards, expanded and renamed this year to include television.
Netflix’s hit series took best show and best actor in a show for an emotional Millie Bobby Brown, one of its young stars, while apart from best actor in a movie, “Beauty” also picked up best film.
“The village in our fairytale wanted to make Belle believe that our world was smaller than the way that she saw it, with fewer opportunities for her, that her curiosity and passion for knowledge and her desire for more in life were grounds for alienation,” said Watson, 27, of her iconic character.
“I loved playing someone who didn’t listen to any of that. I’m so proud to be a part of a film that celebrates diversity, literacy, inclusion, joy and love the way that this one does.”

Source: Arab News