Nicola Coughlan of Derry Girls and Bridgerton Warned: “Social Media Posts Could End Your Hollywood Career”
Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan has revealed that her outspoken support for Palestine could potentially impact her acting career in Hollywood. The Irish actress, known for her roles in Bridgerton and Derry Girls, has been a vocal advocate for Palestine during the Israel-Hamas conflict, using her social media platforms to express her views.
Coughlan explained that her decision to speak out, particularly about the children of Palestine, stems from a “moral responsibility to give back” due to her privileged position. She shared with Teen Vogue that her passion for supporting causes she believes in started before her breakout role in Derry Girls, recalling her involvement in campaigns for marriage equality and abortion rights in Ireland.
“I’ve always cared about causes and social justice,” she told Teen Vogue. “To me, it always becomes about supporting all innocent people, which sounds oversimplified, but I think you’ve got to look at situations and just think, ‘Are we supporting innocent people no matter where they’re from, who they are? ‘ That’s my drive.”
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Despite warnings that her vocal support for Palestine could deter certain agents and studios from working with her, Coughlan remains steadfast in her advocacy, continuing to wear her Artists4Ceasefire pin.
At the 2024 Oscars ceremony, notables like Ramy Youssef, Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell and Ava DuVernay were spotted sporting the pin. Further expressing her views, she added: “You do get told, ‘You won’t get work, you won’t do this.'”, reports the Irish Mirror.
“But I also think, deep down, if you know that you’re coming from a place of ‘I don’t want any innocent people to suffer,’ then I’m not worried about people’s reactions.”
Nicola argued that social media can be a dangerous place when it comes to the Israel-Gaza conflict. “More of us should be trying to understand how upsetting and traumatising this is for Jewish people, and how horrific it is that all these innocent people in Palestine are being murdered,” Nicola added.
She is not the only star in Hollywood echoing the support for Palestine, as ‘Scream VI’ actress Melissa Barrera experienced after she was dropped from the franchise upon voicing out her stand on the social media. She shared on Instagram Stories: “Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp.”
Nicola Coughlan attends the “Bridgerton” Season 3 launch -Credit:Getty Images for Netflix
“Cornering everyone together, with no where to go, no electricity no water … People have learnt nothing from our histories. And just like our histories, people are still silently watching it all happen. THIS IS GENOCIDE and ETHNIC CLEANSING.”
A representative for Spyglass, the enterprise at the helm of the Scream franchise, voiced a firm stance stating: “Spyglass’ stance is unequivocally clear: We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech.”
In her conversation with The Hollywood Reporter about the entire incident, Melissa had this to say: “None of this makes me happy It was just all sad because I really, deeply care about the franchise. It’s just bad that it had to happen like that.”
Moreover, following Gaza’s attack by Hamas on 7th October, a hearty number of celebrities, such as Andrew Garfield, Kristen Stewart and Oscar Isaac, appended their signatures to a letter exhorting US President Joe Biden to rally for a ceasefire in Gaza.
