Nicola Coughlan wins praise as she endures 'deliberately rude' Emmy Awards red carpet

Irish actress Nicola Coughlan arrives for the 76th Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theatre at L.A. Live in Los Angeles on September 15, 2024.
-Credit: (Image: AFP via Getty Images)


Actress Nicola Coughlan has won respect from her fans as she remained the consummate professional while suffering embarrassment at the 2024 Emmy Awards.

The 37-year-old Irish star was among the guests at the glitzy entertainment awards as she a presenter. During the evening of celebrations, the Derry Girls star was on stage to present the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie - which went to Lamorne Morris for his role as State Trooper Whitley 'Witt' Farr in the anthology drama Fargo.

And the Galway native dazzled as she arrived at the ceremony at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California, wearing a shimmering custom made gown by Prabal Gurung. Before entering the venue, Nicola walked the red carpet and happily posed for photographs.

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However, her moment in the spotlight was almost ruined as older guests for the awards continually walked back and forth in front of her while she was being snapped. Footage from the surprising moment went viral on TikTok and fans lashed out at the guests for disrespecting the Bridgerton star.

One fan fumed, writing: "She's being so sweet about it. People would have gotten knocked over." Another asked: "Why are those old people walking like she wasn't there?" And a third asked: "Don't red carpets usually have a back route behind the step and repeat to avoid this situation? Or are these old guys just being deliberately rude?"

Another fan blasted: "Let the queen enjoy her moment why they keep disrupting her." And many praised Nicola for her calm demeanour, with one writing: "And she's still being so sweet about it too... she doesn't deserve to be treated like this."

Outstanding Supporting Actor winner Lamorne praised one of his fellow nominees after Nicola handed his gong to him. In his acceptance speech, the 41-year-old said: "Robert Downey Jr., I've got a poster of you in my house! Please sign it, seriously."

Downey Jr had been nominated in the same category for his various roles in The Sympathizer - in which he plays Claude, Professor Robert Hammer, Ned Godwin, Niko Damianos and The Priest. Lamorne went on to say: "My beautiful daughter, Lily. I love you. I told you I would do it - you've always doubted me. I'm your hero, I'm your leader."

Nicola was joined by Nava Mau to hand out the award. The 32-year-old Mexican actress shot to fame this year as Teri in the controversial Netflix drama Baby Reindeer.

The show, written by and starring Scottish comedian Richard Gadd, tackled dark themes including rape and stalking. However, a woman stepped forward to claim the unhinged character Martha had been based on her and that she had been defamed as a result. She is currently suing Netflix for £130 million.

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