“Bridgerton” star Nicola Coughlan is stepping into the lead role for the hit Netflix series’ third season, but she refuses to let her star turn get in the way of her advocacy work when it comes to supporting Palestine and calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
In a new interview with Teen Vogue, Coughlan spoke about using her social media platforms to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza despite being warned that such advocacy could cost her jobs in the film and television industry. She has already raised thousands of pounds for Gaza relief efforts through Instagram fundraisers.
“I think it’s important to me because firstly, I’m a very privileged person,” Coughlan said. “I’m so lucky I’ve gotten to this point in my career, and I’m privileged as a white woman, first off. Then the fact that I get to do the job I love and travel the world and meet amazing people, I feel a moral responsibility to give back.”
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“Even before I was on television, I was involved in different causes,” she continued. “I went campaigning door-to-door for marriage equality in Ireland, I went on marches for abortion rights. I’ve always cared about causes and social justice… 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.”
When it comes to what’s happening in Gaza, Coughlan said that “you do get told [in Hollywood], ‘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.”
Despite being told that calling for a ceasefire might impact her acting career, Coughlan has continued to wear her Artists4Ceasefire pin. Her advocacy has even inspired legions of “Bridgerton” fans on social media to launch Polins x Care for Gaza. The name “Polin” refers to the romance that sparks between her “Bridgerton” character Penelope and Colin, which makes up the backbone for Season 2. The group has raised money for the nonprofit Care for Gaza, which helps Palestinian families displaced by the war between Israel and Hamas.
“It’s a testament to the people that follow me being so kind and generous,” Coughlan said. “I feel like, in the nicest way possible, my opinion on situations doesn’t matter, but because I have a platform and I have a couple of million people on there, if I can raise a little bit of money, isn’t that an amazing thing to do? And if you can amplify voices of anyone in the world who’s going through tough situations, I just think, why would you not do that?”
Head over to Teen Vogue’s website to read Coughlan’s cover story in its entirety. The first part of “Bridgerton” Season 3 streams May 16 on Netflix, followed by the second batch of episodes launching June 13.