Lady Whistledown’s invasive Society Papers are no match for the internet.
Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan asked fans not to share opinions about her body in an Instagram post shared Sunday, explaining “it’s really hard to take the weight of thousands of opinions on how you look being sent directly to you every day.”
“So just a thing- if you have an opinion about my body please, please don’t share it with me,” Coughlan wrote. “Most people are being nice and not trying to be offensive but I am just one real life human being and it’s really hard to take the weight of thousands of opinions on how you look being sent directly to you every day.”
Coughlan, who portrays Penelope Featherington in the hit Netflix period drama, added that she recognizes that public figures are susceptible to scrutiny, but implored fans not to send the comments to her directly.
“If you have an opinion about me that’s ok, I understand I’m on TV and that people will have things to think and say but I beg you not to send it to me directly,” Coughlan continued.
Ahead of Bridgerton‘s debut in December 2020, Coughlan similarly addressed unsolicited criticisms about her body in an interview with The Irish Times. She reflected on being called “the big one” while starring as Clare Devlin in the sitcom Derry Girls.
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“It was wild, because I was size 10 filming series one and I got called ‘the big one,'” Coughlan said. “I was, like, ‘Are you serious?’ I’m not this gigantic sumo wrestler, and even if I were, would it matter? Would it be relevant?”
Coughlan then commended the way body image was handled in Bridgerton, adding, “It’s referenced, but it’s not the defining characteristic of Penelope. I think that’s what bothers me: we try and reduce women to the size of their body, and there’s so much more than that.”
