Nicola Coughlan has revealed she was told her support for Palestine could affect the acting roles she's offered.
The Irish actress has been vocal about her support for Palestine amid the Israel-Hamas War on social media. She explained her support and willingness to be vocal – especially about the children of Palestine – comes from a "moral responsibility to give back" because of her privileged position.
Nicola noted her desire to be proactive in support of causes she believes strongly about began before she landed her breakout role in Derry Girls. She recalled getting involved in several causes, including campaigning for marriage equality in Ireland and marching for abortion rights.
“I’ve always cared about causes and social justice,” she told Teen Vogue in her cover story. “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.”
The Irish actress was warned studios may not want to work with her (Getty Images for Netflix)Nicola admitted she's been told that certain agents and studies may not want to work with her due to her vocal support for Palestine amid the ongoing conflict. Despite the warning she continues to wear her Artists4Ceasefire pin.
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At the 2024 Oscars, Ramy Youssef, Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell and Ava DuVernay were among the celebrities also seen wearing the pin. She continued: “You do get told, ‘You won’t get work, you won’t do this.'"
"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.
The Bridgerton star is not alone in her vocal support for Palestine within Hollywood and Scream VI actress Melissa Barrera was dropped from the franchise after speaking out on the conflict on social media. In one post on Instagram Stories, she wrote: “Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp.
"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 & ETHNIC CLEANSING.”
A spokesperson for Spyglass, the company behind the Scream franchise, issued a statement: “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.”
Addressing the fallout, Melissa told The Hollywood Reporter: "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.”
Following Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7 hundreds of celebrities including Andrew Garfield, Kristen Stewart and Oscar Isaac signed a letter urging American President Joe Biden to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
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