Michaela Coel admits she has PTSD following her experience of racism at drama school
I May Destroy You creator Michaela Coel admits she has PTSD following her experience of racism at school.
Speaking to The Telegraph's Arts supplement, she spoke about having a 's***ty time' as a black student at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2009.
An independent review into discrimination experienced by students in 2020, found evidence of a racist culture in which multiple black students were called the N-word and 'suppressed' by white tutors.
Being told she has a page dedicated to her on the college's website, she said: 'I'm not going to lie to you, I've got so much PTSD from my time in drama school I've never looked back.'
When asked if she would like the college to remove her image from the website, she said the answer is not an easy one.
Honest: Michaela Coel has admitted she has PTSD following her experience of racism at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, which she attended in 2009, (pictured at the BFI on Sunday)
Tough time: When asked if she would like the college to remove her image from the website, she said the answer is not an easy one
'Its very difficult', she said. 'When you put somebody's picture on the school's thing, it makes people want to go there... and I don't really want to make people do anything or stop people [from] doing anything.
'Sh**ty as my time there was, I love the person I am today and I am a collection of every experience I've had, both fortunate and unfortunate. So do I regret going there? That's a complex question.'
A spokesperson for the school said: 'Guildhall School apologises unreservedly for the racism experienced by Michaela Coel and other alumni whilst they were studying at the School.
'The experiences they have shared are appalling and unacceptable. We have since undertaken a sustained programme of action to address and dismantle long-standing systemic racism within the Acting Programme, including commissioning an external report into historic racism and a comprehensive and ongoing process of staff training and reflection.
'We have also undertaken a significant redevelopment of our Acting curriculum, including a departmental staff restructure, so that our teaching and learning culture prioritises inclusivity, representation and wellbeing.
'We understand that this work is long-term and will require sustained commitment to build a culture that is inclusive and equitable for everyone.'
It's four years since I May Destroy You was released. It's a British television limited series set in London about Arabella, [Coel], a young writer in the public eye who seeks to rebuild her life after being raped.
Michaela, 36, is now set to star in the Amazon reboot of Mr And Mrs Smith alongside Donald Glover and Maya Erskine.
Plan: The actress and writer turned down a £750,000 offer from Netflix for the show because it meant giving up the copyright, but has since earned £3m from the show
Wow! Michaela took home BAFTA gongs for Leading Actress and Mini-series for the series at the ceremony at the Television Centre in June 2021
She famously turned down an offer of £750,000 from Netflix for I May Destroy You, because the company wouldn't give her a percentage of the copyright.
The actress has now reportedly raked in £3million since starring in the critically-acclaimed drama.
She said that she doesn't know if they have asked to work with her again and notes that she loves the team who she works with now.
Doing her thing: Michaela attended the London Film Festival, where the BMW Filmmaking Challenge winner WE COLLIDE was announced there on Sunday
Stars: Ncuti Gatwa, (right) also a judge in the challenge joined them earlier in the day for a panel discussion with broadcaster Edith Bowman, and to showcase the film in the BMW I7
