She Spoke About Her Palestine Support And How She Was Warned That It Could Affect Her Career. “I Think It’s Important To Me Because Firstly, I’m A Very Privileged Person,”
“I think it’s important to me because firstly, I’m a very privileged person,” she said in an interview with Teen Vogue.
“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.”
She recalled how her late father, who served in the Irish army, went into a “lot of war-torn regions after the conflict and try and help rebuild”, and the impact that his work left on her.
“My family lived in Jerusalem back in the late ‘70s, early ’80s, before I was born, so I heard first hand stories about them living there,” she said.
Speaking about the response of Hollywood executives to activism by several actors in support for Palestinian people, the Derry Girls star claimed she was told she could lose work if she continued. She has continued to wear her “Artists4Ceasefire” pin – in support of a ceasefire in Gaza – anyway.
“You do get told, ‘You won’t get work, you won’t do this,’” she said.
“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.”
Coughlan said her advocacy for social justice has always been a part of her life, long before she was an actor, campaigning door-to-door for marriage equality in her home country Ireland and marching for abortion rights.
“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,” she said.
Are you as brave as she is?
The Peace Pirate 