Bridgertonseason 3 is approaching, and social media content about the show is increasing. Although it is not always good. Somefansstarted harassing the star of the show Nicola Coughlan due to an absurd ship war.
Bridgertonis a raucous and sharp romantic series about the timelessness of lasting friendships, families finding their place, and the search for one love that conquers all. The series, inspired by Julia Quinn’s bestsellers, tells a different love story in each season of a member of the Bridgerton family. While season 1 told the story of Simon Basset and Daphne Bridgerton, season 2 focused on the love of Kate Sharma and Anthony Bridgerton.
Thus,Bridgertonseason 3 will tell the story of Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton in a decision that divided the fandom since it skips the chronological order of the original Julia Quinn novels. Therefore, some fans love this change and think it’s the best option for the show, while others don’t think it’s the right time for this love story to flourish.
Bridgerton Season 3: Healthy Debate vs. Systematic Bullying
Ship war is one thing inherent to a successful show. In a series, there can be a myriad of ships, but only one of them can be the main ship and the endgame. The fandom is usually pretty vocal about what their opinion is on the matter. That’s not a bad thing.
Related:Constance Wu Opens Up About Sexual Harassment on Fresh Off the Boat Set
Discussion and debate from respect is always something that enriches the mind because it’s about someone trying to put themselves in someone else’s shoes to understand them. Social media are very conducive to this debate. The problem starts when a healthy debate is replaced by systematic harassment of those who think differently and even the actors of a show that have nothing to do with creative decisions. That is just what happenedwith Nicola Coughlan.
TheBridgertonstar and season 3 leading lady posted a video on her social media defending herself from the harassment she was receiving and explaining that she is not to blame for any creative or public relations decisions that theBridgertonproduction makes.
Nicola Coughlan Will Continue to Shine in Bridgerton Season 3
To understand why Nicola Coughlan posted this video, it is necessary to explain its background. SomeBridgertonfans were upset by how few interviews Simone Ashley (Kate Sharma) and Jonathan Bailey (Anthony Bridgerton) had as the leads for season 2 of the Netflix period show compared to Nicola Coughlan. As a result, some began to scrutinize Nicola’s comments or actions.
The announcement that season 3 would tellthe love story of Polin(Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton) was the straw that broke the camel’s back for some. They felt this decision was an incorrect one since, according to the order of the Julia Quinn series, the show had to tell in its season 3 the story of Sophie and Benedict Bridgerton. Because of this, the harassment against Nicola Coughlan intensified by this part of the fandom.
They blame Nicola Coughlan forBridgertonseason 3 telling Polin’s story, as well as taking the focus from the season 2 leads. There were even false rumors alleging envy and rivalry with the series' cast, especially with Simone Ashley. Likewise, some extrapolated her annoyance with Penelope to Nicola, confusing fiction and reality. For these reasons, Nicola Coughlan decided to delete her account on Twitter and, ultimately, publish the video in which she addressed these accusations.
Nicola Coughlan always shines, and it shows in her every word how much she lovesBridgerton, the series' fandom, and how excited she is to show the world Polin’s love story. That is why it is so sad that she has lived this unfair and cruel part of stardom.
Bridgerton Is Not an Isolated Case
Unfortunately, Nicola Coughlan andBridgertonare not the first to suffer this harassment. Something similar happened withArrow, The Flash,andChicago P.D.InArrow’scase, the relationship raised between Oliver and Laurel was a flop from the beginning. So, a happy accident called Olicity arose. The explosive chemistry between Stephen Amell (Oliver) and Emily Bett Rickards (Felicity) was on display from the start. So the producers decided to twist their initial plan and make Olicity the main ship and endgame forArrow.
Related:Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story: Plot, Cast, and Everything Else We Know
This provoked a campaign of harassment on an unimaginable scale against the fans of this couple and against the actress who played Felicity, Emily Bett Rickards. All for decisions that were out of her control. This harassment caused Emily Bett to barely post content on her social media to limit her exposure.
And it is not even the only example in superhero series. Candice Patton also suffered attacks and harassment from fans of the show who blamed her for theplots ofThe Flashand her supposed excess of prominence, as if she could control these kinds of situations. Consequently, Candice also limited her posts on social media. She even decided to walk away from the show both due to the systematic bullying she suffered and racism issues on set.
Likewise, in a more recent case, part of theChicago P.D.fandom is starting to follow the same path.Jesse Lee Soffer’s recent departurefrom the show has fueled a multi-year ship war between Upstead (Hailey Upton and Jay Halstead) and Burzek (Adam Ruzek and Kim Burgess). Again, this type of bullying affects fans and actors alike and stems from decisions they don’t control. And they are just a few random examples of a much bigger problem.
Of course, this treatment is unfair and underserved for everyone involved. Society needs to examine this issue closely becausemental health mattersand is irreparably damaged by this systematic bullying.
