Nicola Coughlan's Weight Loss Did Not Go Unnoticed among 'Bridgerton' Fans

Ireland native Nicola Coughlan has been dedicated to her craft since she was young. Most recently, she's received more acclaim as Penelope in the beloved romance series "Bridgerton." Yet, an aspect of Penelope's character development has garnered much pushback from fans of the show.

Talented actress and writer Nicola Coughlin once insisted that she wasn't a body-positivity activist but an actor who viewed her body as "a gift" and "a tool" for her craft. Although the actress is willing to fulfill any physical requirements for a role, this most recent requirement may perpetuate a harmful message.

Earlier this year, Netflix announced that Season 3 of "Bridgerton" would focus on Penelope and Colin Bridgerton's romance. Part of what begins their relationship is Penelope's transformation: her weight loss. According to the story's source, Julia Quinn's book series, this transformation leads to Colin noticing Penelope.

Coughlin has appeared in other roles where her body and weight were the subjects of discussion and ridicule. Despite the delivery of her riveting performances, critics have consistently othered the actress in that regard.

What Do People Say of Nicola Coughlan?

As fans of "Bridgerton" kept up with the show's updates, discourse about Nicola Coughlan's character, Penelope, and her pending transformation began on social media. They pondered the potential implications of the story's development on Coughlan and the message it would send to "plus-size women."

Initially, Penelope and Colin's story was meant to be the fourth season. Netflix hasn't clarified why the showrunners chose not to run with the order of Julia Quinn's book series. However, the topic of Penelope's physical transformation began long before Netflix made the announcement.

The consensus was that Penelope – nor Coughlan – shouldn't have to lose weight to be noticed, more attractive, and therefore loved. Yet that's how the story goes in Quinn's "Romancing Mr. Bridgerton." Still, fans agreed it was a harmful representation that sent the wrong message.

A Twitter user said she would "turn feral" if the Bridgerton showrunners forced Coughlan to lose even an ounce of weight, while another chimed in that she hoped Coughlan/Penelope wouldn't have to be thinner before "getting her happy ending."

Another netizen said she hoped Netflix wouldn't take the cliche displayed in the books and showcase it in the series. However, fans noticed that Coughlan had already begun her weight loss journey earlier this month.

A different Twitter user noted that Coughlan's weight loss for Penelope – a.k.a Lady Whistledown, voiced by Julia Andrews – was "fine" but found it "kinda worrying" that it coincided with the filming of Bridgerton's third season.

How Did Nicola Coughlan React?

Still, Nicola Coughlin begs to differ, and the actress isn't afraid to speak for herself. At the beginning of this year, she penned a plea alongside a gorgeous mirror selfie before appearing on an episode of SNL.

While she doesn't object to people having their judgments of her, Coughlin pleaded with her followers to cease sharing those opinions – especially of her body – on her DMs. She spoke of how difficult it was to carry the weight of the thousands of comments she received daily.

Moreover, Coughlin stated that she viewed her body as her tool for acting and telling stories. For the actress, it doesn't define who she is. But she does find it frustrating when it's all that people pay attention to in her work.

On the 4th of this month, Express reported that the actress posted a mirror selfie on her Instagram story, sporting gym wear before a workout session. She captioned the post:

"If I ever get up to exercise before work, I do feel like I deserve a special medal and that is just the truth."

Nicola Coughlan Made a Critic Apologize

In 2018, Nicola Coughlin played Joyce Emily in the theatre production "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" at The Donmar Warehouse in London. A reviewer, Philip Fisher, from the British Theatre Guide made fatphobic comments about Coughlin's appearance.

The actress took to social media, tagging the publication, to express her frustration about Fisher, who paid little attention to her acting. In the since-deleted tweets, she noted that it wasn't the first time they'd let this happen. Coughlin then stated she was banning Fisher from reviewing her future performances.

This prompted the British Theatre Guide to issue an apology a few hours later. However, her fans were unsatisfied with it, feeling it only took partial accountability. A few days later, she penned an essay in The Guardian, where she spoke about how her efforts in the characters she plays go unnoticed on account of her weight.