Emma Watson honored at Time 100 Gala in NYC

Emma Watson, who is set to start work soon on the upcoming live-action version of Beauty and the Beast, attended the Time 100 Gala in New York last night, where she was honored for her role as a United Nations Women Goodwill Ambassador.

The former editor of the New York Times, Jill Abramson, explained in an article why the actress deserved to be on Time‘s list of the 100 Most Influential People,

Emma Watson’s alter ego Hermione Granger would doubtless approve of her HeForShe campaign and its gutsy, smart take on feminism.

It’s especially refreshing to see men invited to join the fight for gender equality, as Watson pointedly did in launching the U.N. effort last fall, telling the men that it’s ‘your issue too.’

Her acclaimed HeForShe speech was also a point of interest for Abramson.

Her HeForShe speech at Davos was an Internet sensation, but unsurprisingly, it drew the typical antifeminist rants and even some threats. Watson chose to highlight the moving letters she has received from fathers who tell her they are investing new hope in the future for their daughters. But she was also frank about the bullying tactics of her detractors and one site that made an empty threat to release nude photos. Her confident and cool reaction: ‘If they were trying to put me off, they did the opposite.’

You can check out some photos of Watson at the event below.

Are you proud of Emma’s continued success? Excited to see her play Belle in Beauty and the Beast? Let us know your thoughts!