Bridgerton star urges Gaza donations as new season starts

As the latest series of Bridgerton came out on Netflix on Thursday, the lead actress of the season is asking viewers to donate to Rafah as the Israeli military begins its offensive on the city.

Eager fans have been waiting for almost two years for the much-anticipated third season, and Irish actress Nicola Coughlan, who plays Penelope in the show and is the season's current lead, says that while she is excited for the season to come out, she can't help but think about what is happening in Gaza.

"So excited for today and to share with all of you wonderful people who've waited so long for S3 but a huge part of my heart is with the innocent people in Rafah, if you would like to donate or share that would be amazing", Coughlan said on her Instagram stories, adding the tag #ceasefirenow and a link to donate to Medical Aid for Palestinians.

While many have chosen to block celebrities who have remained silent on the war on Gaza, Coughlan has been one of the celebrities using her platform to raise awareness of what is happening in the enclave.

The actress regularly posts about Palestine on her Instagram and has raised tens of thousands of pounds through Instagram fundraisers she has organised.

The Irish star is known for her advocacy regarding many causes, including marching for abortion rights and campaigning door-to-door for marriage equality, even before working in television.

But Coughlan told Teen Vogue she was warned she wouldn't get work if she were vocal about Palestine and that certain agents, agencies, and studios would refuse to work with her.

Coughlan, who was born and raised in Galway, spoke of the "huge connection between Ireland and Palestine".

Ireland is one of the few countries in the West to vocally support Gaza since Israel began waging war on the enclave last year and was the first EU state to endorse Palestinian statehood in 1980.

At the 96th Academy Awards on Sunday, Jonathan Glazer won Best International Feature Film for "The Zone of Interest".
Glazer, who is Jewish, has repeatedly made parallels between the Holocaust era and today’s events in Gaza.
Here's what he said during his speech👇#Oscars2024 pic.twitter.com/4fZxokHSzl

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) March 11, 2024

The country will also be intervening in South Africa's case against Israel, which is seeing the state being tried for genocide.

Other celebrities to publicly support Gaza include Mark Ruffalo, Ramy Youssef, Lauryn Hill and Jonathan Glazer, who received backlash following his pro-Palestine acceptance speech after winning the Oscar award.

Israel's war on Gaza has so far killed over 35,000 Palestinians, injuring over 79,000 since 7 October.