Michaela Coel on overcoming her sexual trauma: ‘Your final destination is empathy’

‘I think the cycle of grief has to be ridden all the way around,’ says I May Destroy You creator

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Michaela Coel has spoken out about processing sexual assault and overcoming trauma.

Speaking to ELLE UK, the I May Destroy You (IMDY)creator referenced how she was sexually assaulted while writing her Channel 4 series Chewing Gum, an experience that was retold through a fictional lens in IMDY.

Now, speaking to the publication, Coel explains she still grapples with processing that night.

“I think [about] what happened to me. It’s really horrible and f***ed up, and to automatically feel angry, sad, revengeful, those are good things,” she said.

“And then your final destination is empathy. But then there’s also things like the law and we need both of those things.

“I think the cycle of grief has to be ridden all the way around. It’s easy to remain in a place of anger, sadness or shock.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Coel describes how she believes forgiveness can be empowering.

“I hate the idea of somebody being sorry and me withholding forgiveness.

“Because you leave someone in torment and actually you have the power to release that person. Feeling that power is empowering.”

The actor and writer also spoke about racism and the microaggressions she has experienced.

“I am a Black woman and that will always be true. And, for me, there is nothing like going to a different country where nobody knows me and experiencing the way security guards follow me around the pharmacy or the grocery shop,” she said.

“The dirty looks I receive, the fact that cars don’t want to stop on a zebra crossing. All these things reinstall that I am a Black woman.

“As long as these issues are still happening, I am happy to speak, because I could be deluded and forget that that’s a part of me. I’m really lucky that there are places where I’m not known and so it allows me to still experience it.”

You can read the full interview in ELLE UK, which is on sale from 2 September.

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact Rape Crisis via their free helpline on 0808 802 9999 or on their website.