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“I May Destroy You” stars Michaela Coel and Paapa Essiedu received a formal apology from their shared alma mater Guildhall School of Music and Drama this week.
In separate interviews, both actors have spoken out about the “appalling” racism they experienced while attending the prestigious acting school.
Coel previously opened up about the issue in 2018 while conducting a lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival. The actress and screenwriter said she was called the “N-word twice” during drama class.
“The first was by a teacher during a ‘walk in the space’ improvisation that had nothing to do with race,” she explained, noting how the teacher told her and other Black students in the class:
“‘Oi, [N-word], what you got for me?’”
“We, students, continued walking in the space, the two Black boys and I glancing at each other whenever we passed,” Coel continued.
“‘Who’s she talking to?’ we’d whisper. ‘Boy, not me.’ ‘Nah that was for you.’ Passing around responsibility like a hot potato, muffling our laugh-snorts. I wonder what the other students thought of our complicity.”
Paapa Essiedu claims he was also called the N-word during an improv class
More recently, Coel’s co-star Paapa Essiedu detailed an incident where a teacher at the Guildhall School used racial slurs during an improvisation exercise. The professor was pretending to be an officer looking for drugs as the students portrayed prisoners.
“Suddenly she shouted: ‘Hey you, N-word, what have you got behind you?’” Essiedu told The Guardian in an interview published on June 10. According to the “Gangs of London” star, Coel was also present during the racially charged incident.
“That was a real ‘time stops’ moment. It was like, surely this can’t be happening,” he continued. “We were so shocked we just stayed in the improvisation, so we were like: ‘No we haven’t got anything behind us.’ We were shellshocked by what had happened and shocked that it had come out of the mouth of a teacher.”
Essiedu also described an incident where the same improv teacher shouted the N-word after she criticized him for not enunciating his lines. According to the 32-year-old London native, the teacher said he sounded like he had a mouth “full of chocolate cake.” The actor was taken aback by the “loaded” comment.
“It so clearly shows a lack of respect and understanding of what the experience is of someone who is in that position, in that skin, in that institution,” Essiedu added.
The Guildhall School apologizes for racial misconduct
In a statement issued to The Guardian, the Guildhall School apologized for the racially fueled incidents endured by both stars, noting how their experiences were “appalling and unacceptable.”
“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,” the school added.
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