Celebrity

Nicola Coughlan & Paul Mescal Call Out Irish Erasure In The Media's Emmy Commentary

"Why is this still happening in 2020?"

by Aoife Hanna
Updated: 
Originally Published: 
Peter Marley/Channel4

News of the Emmy nominations had many celebrating – or congratulating stars – when they were announced on July 28. But conversation turned when various UK news outlets described Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott as "British". Derry Girls star Nicola Coughlan called out the Irish erasure prompting support on Twitter, including from Mescal himself.

Coughlan retweeted a post showing coverage of this year's Emmy nominations with the comment: "Why is this still happening in 2020?? Just stop calling Irish people British there’s no excuse."

The tweet in question highlights the fact that both Mescal and Fleabag star Andrew Scott were labelled as "British actors", when they are in fact Irish. Scott was born in Dublin and Mescal hails from Kildare. The excerpt from the Guardian (which has since amended its copy) matches the Daily Mail's coverage, which also wrongly reports the actors' nationality and cultural identity.

Mescal has weighed in on the controversy, simply tweeting: "I'm Irish."

This is not the first time Irish talents have been wrongly claimed as British. In 2017, the Daily Edge reported on multiple publications, including the Telegraph and the Evening Standard, referring to Ethiopian-Irish actor Ruth Negga as British when she was nominated for an Oscar for her role in Loving.

Pierce Brosnan, best known for his seven year stint as James Bond, has also faced this problem in the past. When he appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, he was referred to as a "British Icon", per the Irish Mirror, and had to correct the host on where he grew up.

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