Emma Watson announced last month that she’s taking a break from studying. Click here for my initial thoughts on that. Couple of weeks ago there was a report out of the UK – the tabloids here are epic, I’m telling you – that she’d decided to leave Brown because she was being bullied, citing a story that’s been urban legend for over a year now, that I’ve received in my inbox at least a hundred times, about her being in class, getting an answer right, and someone heckling “10 points for Gryffindor”.

Anyway, Emma’s rep has killed those claims but did confirm to The New York Times that Emma is indeed leaving Brown and transferring to another institution because there are certain courses she wants to take that aren’t available at the university. It was not specified which courses and it was not made clear where she’s going, if she’s going…

Which has been the reaction of some. To doubt and worry. I get it. The Lindsays, Britneys, Mileys, and all the sh-t that’s come out of there have made us wary of the child star who doesn’t go to school and/or drops out. But those girls have also been making mistakes for years. One bad decision after another. Is it fair to lump Emma in with them, assign her the same fate, when she hasn’t given us any reason to?

My ma still brings up the times when I f-cked up, even if they were, like 15 years ago, just to remind me that trust has to be earned, and it takes a long time. She also says though that when you prove you can be trusted, that trust will be strong, and it will be carried a long way. For a kid growing up, it’s the reward for good behaviour.

Do I like Emma Watson? Yes. A lot. Am I biased? Sure. Does that bias mean that I’m being less critical of her than of someone else in the same situation? It’s not bias so much as example. She hasn’t demonstrated a track record for doing dumb sh-t. Emma Watson has proved that she does something different, a little more useful, with her time than Lindsay Lohan. Isn’t it then more OBJECTIVE to consider that this is NOT a screw up? I think she gets a little slack on this one. That’s her reward for good behaviour.

Attached – Emma at Heathrow on Sunday flying to the US.


Photos from Flynetonline.com