Emma Watson says she received threats after speaking out on gender equality

She's one of the most well-known actresses in the world after appearing in the "Harry Potter" films. But Emma Watson now says she has been the target of online threats after speaking at the United Nations about feminism.

Watson, 24, was at the center of the media spotlight in September after starting the "HeForShe" campaign, dedicated at enlisting billion men and boys in the movement for gender equality. But after delivering the speech, Watson says a website appeared threatening to release naked pictures of the actress.

Watson discussed what it was like to receive the online threats in an interview on Sunday, which was posted to her Facebook page for International Women's Day.

"I knew it was a hoax. I knew the pictures didn't exist," Watson said on Sunday, according to ABC News. "But I think a lot of people that were close to me knew gender equality was an issue but they didn't really think it was that urgent or particularly, you know, 'We live in Great Britain. This is a thing of that past.'"

"And then when they saw that the minute I stepped up and talked about women's rights, I was immediately threatened -- I mean, in less than 12 hours I was receiving threats -- and I think they were really shocked and, particularly, one of my brothers was very upset."

Watson says that the experience definitely opened up her eyes to the reality of online threats against women.

"So I think it was just a wake-up call of, 'Oh, this is like a real thing, it's really happening now. Like now,'" Watson said, according to ABC News. "Women are receiving threats in all sorts of different forms. That was just one specific one."

Watson continued, ""If anything, it made me so much more determined. I was just raging. It made me so angry that I was just like ... 'This is why I have to be doing this!' ... So if anything, it actually, if they were trying to put me off it, they did the opposite."

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