Posted March 06, 2017 11:45:39

Emma Watson has hit back at critics who said she betrayed her feminist ideals by posing for a revealing picture in Vanity Fair magazine where parts of her breasts were exposed.

One of the photos in the magazine's photoshoot, by acclaimed fashion photographer Tim Walker, showed Watson in an open, white crocheted bolero jacket with no bra or shirt underneath.

It caused some controversy online, with critics questioning her choice to pose for the image.

"Feminism, feminism … gender wage gap … why oh why am I not taken seriously … feminism … oh, and here are my tits!" tweeted journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer.

The British actress said the comments to her revealed how many misconceptions and misunderstandings there were about feminism.

"Feminism is about giving women choice. Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women," she said, in an interview promoting her latest film, Beauty and the Beast.

"It's about freedom, it's about liberation, it's about equality.

"I really don't know what my tits have to do with it. It's very confusing.

"I'm confused. Most people are confused. No, I'm just always just quietly stunned."

When asked by her co-star, Dan Stevens, what people had said about the photoshoot, Watson replied: "They were saying I couldn't be a feminist and have boobs."

Watson has been a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador since July 2014, and pioneered the HeForShe campaign to make men advocate for feminism.

"We'd been doing so many crazy things on that shoot but it felt incredibly artistic and I've been so creatively involved and engaged with Tim and I'm so thrilled about how interesting and beautiful the photographs were," she said.

ABC/Reuters

Topics: feminism, women, film-movies, arts-and-entertainment, united-states