Nicola Coughlan Calls for the U.S. to Stop Sending Arms to Israel

Bridgerton actor Nicola Coughlan donned an “Artists for Ceasefire pin” on the red carpet of the 2024 TIME100 Next Gala in Manhattan on Wednesday night, as the collective calls for a permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

Coughlan said she wore the pin as a call for U.S. President Joe Biden and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer to “stop sending arms to Israel, to release the hostages, [and] to send aid into Gaza.” 

“It's a call for peace. It's a call for everybody to try and find peace within that region,” Coughlan added. 

The gala took place just two days after the one-year anniversary of the Israel-Hamas War, which began on Oct. 7, 2023. More than 41,000 people in Gaza have died, and nearly 97,000 others injured, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. The war began after Hamas killed 1,200 people and kidnapped another 250 on what became the bloodiest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust. 

Coughlan used her toast as a moment to again highlight the war in Gaza, referencing the influence U.S. leadership can have to “help de-escalate tensions” and bring forward peace between Palestinians and Israelis.“The majority of Palestinians and Israelis want to live in peace, not endure anymore violence. Please help them find the path of peace.”  

This isn’t the first time Coughlan has been vocal in her call for a ceasefire, wearing the pin to the 2024 Emmys, and throughout Bridgerton Season 3 promotion—for which she says she has faced some disapproval. 

“You do get told, ‘You won’t get work,’ ‘You won’t do this.’ But I also think, deep down, if you know that you’re coming from a place of ‘I don’t want any innocent people to suffer,’ then I’m not worried about people’s reactions,” the TIME100 Next honoree told Teen Vogue in an April interview. 

More than 500 artists have their names included on the “Artists for Ceasefire” site—including Channing Tatum, Quinta Brunson, and Gigi Hadid—though other artists not featured on the list, such as Billie Elish and her brother Finneas, have also sported the red pin.  

The TIME100 Next Gala was presented by Toyota, Discover Puerto Rico, Glenfiddich Single Malt Scotch Whisky, and FIJI Water.