Irish actress Nicola Coughlan has voiced strong condemnation of a recent Supreme Court ruling on gender, saying she is “completely horrified” and “disgusted” by the decision. The 38-year-old Bridgerton and Barbie star, known for her vocal support of LGBT+ rights, announced that she would match public donations up to £10,000 for Not A Phase, a UK-based charity supporting trans adults.
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The Supreme Court ruled that under the 2010 Equality Act, the definitions of “woman” and “sex” refer specifically to biological women and biological sex. This clarification means transgender women with a Gender Recognition Certificate can be lawfully excluded from single-sex spaces, provided it is “proportionate”. While judges stated that trans individuals remain protected under equalities law, many, including Coughlan, viewed the ruling as harmful. “To see an already marginalised community being further attacked, and attacked in law, is stomach-churning and disgusting,” she said in an Instagram video.
Pop artist Jake Shears, frontman of the Scissor Sisters, also expressed solidarity, calling the judgment “deeply upsetting” and aligning the band with Not A Phase for their forthcoming UK tour. While some women’s rights campaigners celebrated the ruling, LGBT+ organisations such as Stonewall described it as “incredibly worrying for the trans community”. Not A Phase responded defiantly, stating: “Whether trans people are included or excluded in the Government’s legislation, our existence can never be taken from us.”
Coughlan, who has featured as a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, has long championed queer causes. Her recent BAFTA TV nomination for Big Mood and roles in Bridgerton and Derry Girls have made her one of the most recognisable and outspoken voices in contemporary British television. “Now’s the time to speak up,” she urged followers, calling on people to show up for the trans community in both word and action.
