Emma Watson condemned by woman who inspired Bling Ring character for ‘comments she made about me’

Watson portrayed Nicki, a character based on Neiers, in the 2013 film about the true story of a group of teenagers who stole over $3m worth of property from celebrities including Paris Hilton and Orlando Bloom

“Bling Ring” member Alexis Neiers (now Haines) has criticised Emma Watson for previously making disparaging comments about the role that she inspired, despite reportedly knowing that Neiers had been sexually abused throughout her childhood and had come out as a “full-blown heroin addict”.

In the 2013 film The Bling Ring, Watson portrays Nicki, a character based on Alexis Neiers. The Sofia Coppola film told the story of a 2010 Vanity Fair article about a group of teenagers known as “The Bling Ring”, who used the internet to locate celebrity homes in order to rob them.

Neiers was a member of the real-life group, who stole over $3m (£2.28m) worth of property from stars including Orlando Bloom, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan.

In 2010, she was sentenced to 180 days in county jail for her involvement with the “Bling Ring” Hollywood burglaries, after a police search of her home led to the discovery of designer goods belonging to Rachel Bilson and Lindsay Lohan.

Neiers was released after serving one month of her six-month sentence.

In an Instagram Live interview with comedian and writer Ziwe Fumudow, the former reality TV star called out Watson for previous comments the actor made about her role as Nicki.

“The problem I had is with the comments she made about me and the role despite the fact that she already knew that I was a convicted… like the heroin part, the drug addiction part had already come out. So I was actually in treatment at the time they were filming the movie,” Neiers said.

She added: “I think [Watson] said something along the lines of like ‘this girl’s the epitome of what I’m totally against and she’s disgusting’, and you know at that point I already came out with the fact that I’ve been sexually abused throughout my childhood and was like a full-blown heroin addict at the time.”

In a 2013 interview with GQ, Watson said of her character based on Neiers, “The character [of Nicki] is everything that I felt strongly against – she’s superficial, materialistic, vain and amoral.”

The Harry Potter star continued, “She’s all of these things and I realised I hated her. How do you play someone you hate? But I found it really interesting and it gave me a whole new insight into what my job or my role as an actress could be.”

The Independent has approached Watson’s representatives for comment.

Neiers told Fumudow that she has never seen The Bling Ring and has no plans to.