Michaela Coel on the cover of Vogue today GAVE ME LIFE!! 😍 The story of her resilience as a Creator resonates with me so strongly... She's the first Black woman to take home the Emmy award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her HBO drama, "I May Destroy You," which she wrote, directed and starred in. The 12-episode series is inspired by Coel's experience of being a survivor of sexual assault. But as Coel was pitching what would become her award-winning show back in 2017, she originally turned down a $1 million deal to make the show with Netflix, according to a July 2020 profile with VULTURE. Despite the enticing $1 million deal, Coel turned down the offer when she was denied the ability to retain any percentage of the copyright to her work. According to VULTURE during one phone call with a high-level Netflixexecutive, Coel tried to negotiate to retain 5% of her rights, which got cut down to 2%, then 1%, and ultimately 0.5%. Before the executive ended the call to run the numbers up the chain, she told Coel: "Michaela? I just want you to know I'm really proud of you. You're doing the right thing." It was a clarifying moment for Coel, she told VULTURE: "I remember thinking, 'I've been going down rabbit holes in my head, like people thinking I'm paranoid, I'm acting sketchy, I'm killing off all my agents.' Then she said those words to me, and I finally realized — I'm not crazy. This is crazy." Coel ultimately fired her U.S. agency when she learned they were pushing her toward the deal and would earn an undisclosed amount from the partnership. By fall 2017, she pitched "I May Destroy You" to a producer with the BBC. She received an email the next day saying she would have everything she negotiated for: a seat at the table on production, full creative control and the rights to the work. "I May Destroy You" premiered in June 2020 to favorable reviews for its exploration of a young Black woman rebuilding her life, career and relationships after a sexual assault. In her acceptance speech at the Emmy awards ceremony, Coel offered a few words to fellow writers: "Write the tale that scares you, that makes you feel uncertain, that is uncomfortable. I dare you." "In a world that entices us to browse through the lives of others to help us better determine how we feel about ourselves, and to, in turn, feel the need to be constantly visible, for visibility these days seems to somehow equate to success. "Do not be afraid to disappear, from it, from us, for a while, and see what comes to you in the silence."
