Five flawless times Michaela Coel was the feminist and LGBTQ+ icon we all need
It’s the iconic Michaela Coel’s 35th birthday and not only is she one of the UK’s brightest screen stars, during her life and career she’s also been a fierce advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.
Coel has smashed barriers for Black women in the TV and film industry with critically acclaimed works such as I May Destroy You and has regularly spoken up for women and the LGBQ+ community.
From her impactful story writing to Drag Race UK, here’s five times Coel was a feminist and LGBTQ+ icon.
*Everything to do with I May Destroy You*
No list about Michaela Coel could begin without mentioning her groundbreaking BBC drama I May Destroy You. Written and starring Coel herself, the 12 episode series follows a group of Black friends as they navigate life’s many difficulties and complications.
The series has won an Emmy, several BAFTAs and been praised by many for tackling sexual assault, LGBTQ+ issues and modern life in a nuanced and powerful way.
Michaela Coel in I May Destroy You. (BBC/Val Productions/Natalie Seery/IMDb)
The main storyline focuses around Arabella (Coel) who is trying to process and carry on with her life after being raped. We also meet her best friend, Kwame (Paapa Essiedu), a gay man who also experiences sexual assault.
Speaking about why she decided to include rape in Kwame’s storyline she told The Guardian: “It happened to somebody that I know and I had not seen anything about that on television. As if we were all scared to accept that it exists.
“When I sensed that erasure of somebody’s trauma, of a whole group of people’s trauma, then I feel compelled to expose it in the most transparent way that I can.”
In the series, we also meet Kai (Tyler Luke Cunningham), a trans man navigating the dating scene and the challenges trans people face.
*Michaela Coel joined the MCU in the queerest way possible*
Speaking of queer vibes, Coel has recently made headlines after she appeared in the trailer for the Black Panther sequel, Wakanda Forever. She joins the MCU as queer Black character, Aneka.
In the comics Aneka is a combat instructor of the Dora Milaje, the elite all-female special forces of Wakanda. She has a romance with Ayo, currently played by Florence Kasumba, so we can only hope to see that plot to come to life on screen.
Around the time it was first announced Coel would be joining the MCU, Marvel’s executive vice president of film production told Variety: “There’s a lot that we have coming up that I think will be representative of the world of today.
“We’re not going to nail it in the first movie or the second movie or third movie, or the first show or second show, but we will do our best to consistently try to represent.”