Celebrities are outraged that Michaela Cole's 'I May Destroy You' was snubbed at the Golden Globes

Advertisement
Celebrities are outraged that Michaela Cole's 'I May Destroy You' was snubbed at the Golden Globes
Michaela Coel created, wrote, co-directed, and starred in "I May Destroy You."BBC Studios/Warner Bros. Television Distribution
  • Critics, fans, and celebrities all loved Michaela Coel's acclaimed series "I May Destroy You."
  • But the Golden Globes didn't nominate the show in any category, leaving a trail of outrage.
  • Celebrities from Cathy Yan to Dylan O'Brien to Mark Duplass have all expressed their disappointment.
Advertisement

The Golden Globes' snub of Michaela Coel's critically-acclaimed TV show "I May Destroy You" is continuing to generate outrage from celebrities and fans alike, a day after the show failed to earn a single nomination.

The show follows Coel (who also created, wrote, and co-directed the series) as Arabella - a young writer who struggles to rebuild her life in the wake of being raped. Viewers and critics raved about the show, but it show failed to land a single nod despite many calling it the best TV series of the year and lauding Coel's powerful performance.

Meanwhile, fans have pointed out that if "Emily in Paris," which was widely panned by critics, managed to get a nomination, so, too, should have Coel's show - including a writer on "Emily in Paris." But "I May Destroy You" would have been up for best limited series/TV film, meaning it was pipped to a nomination by "Normal People," "The Queen's Gambit," "Small Axe," "The Undoing," and "Unorthodox." It's worth noting that despite the outrage, Insider didn't actually predict "I May Destroy You" would get a nomination in this category - a tough and competitive year it was.

However, Insider did predict that Coel herself would get a nomination for best actress in a limited series/TV film. Instead, the Globes nominated Cate Blanchett ("Mrs. America"), Daisy Edgar-Jones ("Normal People"), Shira Haas ("Unorthodox"), Nicole Kidman ("The Undoing"), and Anya Taylor-Joy ("The Queen's Gambit").

If the snubs of Coel and "I May Destroy You" have proved anything, though, it's just how many celebrity fans the show has.

Advertisement

"Birds of Prey" director Cathy Yan was one of the first to tout her outrage:

"The Undoing" actress Noma Dumezweni said she is "sad" over the snub.

Mark Duplass, who stared in "The Morning Show," wrote "I May Destroy You" was "criminally unrecognized."

Comedian Kathy Griffin also tried to see the positives of the show's snub: "more people will discover Michaela [Coel's] masterpiece," Griffin wrote.

"Honey Boy" director Alma Har'el wrote that "no award is big enough" to truly celebrate the "goddess" that is Coel.

Advertisement

"Doctor Who" actress Pearl Mackie wrote that this snub "is the wildest thing that has happened in 2021 and 2020 combined."

Model and actress Suki Waterhouse retweeted someone who called the snub an "absolute travesty." @georgegriffiths wrote that show was "the most singular TV series of the past few years driven by a brave and fearless performance from a true auteur." Waterhouse definitely agreed.

"Black Mirror" actress Alice Lowe wrote that the show "revolutionised a genre" and wondered if that was "too scary" for Globes voters. "True art often is," Lowe wrote.

"The Maze Runner" actor Dylan O'Brien didn't dilute his feelings, either, calling the Globes "laughable."

O'Brien wrote: "Not only is 'I May Destroy You' absolutely fucking brilliant, it should be required viewing. Apparently you can be TOO far ahead of humanity @MichaelaCoel we don't deserve you."

Advertisement

"Queen & Slim" actress Jodie Turner-Smith summed up her thoughts about the snub with one simple tweet:

Meanwhile, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen summarized why the show is so good and why so many people love it, calling it a mixture of "a literary novel" and "slam poetry" led by the "commanding" Michaela Coel.

Meanwhile, fans were just as outraged. One fan wrote that it was "an atrocious decision" to nominate "Emily in Paris" but not "I May Destroy You."

Another fan wrote that the show was "the best show of the year" and one of the "most important in a very long time."

Another fan wondered if the show's failure to get a nomination is due to its distributer, the BBC, not pushing it during the awards campaign enough - while Netflix is famous for giving it's content huge publicity pushes. In fact, Netflix amassed 35% of all of this year's Golden Globe nominations.

Advertisement
{{}}