Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley under fire over ‘crazy’ anecdote about cats
Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal have sparked outrage for their anti-cat declarations in a resurfaced interview.
The pair have come under fire for saying ‘f**k cats’, unprovoked, and no, we don’t mean that infamous 2019 film.
While promoting Hamnet on the Happy Sad Confused podcast in November, the duo slipped in the confession that they are distinctly not cat people.
‘I don’t like cats,’ Jessie, 36, admitted rather sheepishly before Paul, 30, said ‘F**k cats’ with his whole chest.
Host Josh Horowitz warned the stars that such a bold declaration could be career-ruining, but The Bride! actress doubled down.
She laughed and revealed: ‘My husband, when I started dating him, he had two cats. This is bad so I’m going to get cancelled. But one of the cats was like, a pedigree model b***h.
‘And she staged like a coup against me. I’d come home and there’d just be like, poo on the pillow. And I was like, “It’s me or the cats.”‘
Jessie apparently ‘won’ that battle, but her and Paul’s feline discrimination has not gone down well.
‘Well, Hamnet’s not winning anything at the Oscars FOR SURE now,’ declared the Reddit poster LawrenceBrolivier, with a hint of sarcasm.
Glimmhilde wrote: ‘Getting rid of your pets for someone is crazy. Asking someone to do that is even crazier.’
‘So vile making someone getting rid of their pets. and her husband is a loser for doing so,’ agreed Kate4everBae.
On X, fans voiced that disliking cats was one thing, but forcing your partner to rehome their pets was a ‘red flag’.
‘I like Jessie Buckley a lot as an actress, but her gleefully retelling the story of giving her husband the ultimatum of rehoming his cats when they got together… not to be dramatic, but that genuinely makes me think less of her,’ texasrozanov said.
MissLSW added: ‘Jessie Buckley admitted in an interview that she hates cats so much she made her husband get rid of his when they met. And laughed about it like it’s funny. Knew there was a reason I couldn’t warm to her.’
However, Paul and Jessie aren’t the only ones taking aim at cats recently, with American rapper Doechii clashing with fans over her feline faux pas.
‘People act like it’s a crime to dislike cats when they genuinely aren’t friendly animals,’ she boldly claimed on Threads.
Explaining her position the Alter Ego singer said: ‘They don’t wanna be domestic, just leave em alone! Like it’s not organic, I’m sorrryyy be fr it’s rare that cats are immediately lovey without years of pain and work put in.
‘Y’all be scratched and beat tf up by your own animals, I can’t lmaoooo’.
Fans pointed out that cats not wanting to be around humans is largely a misconception; it’s just that they’re not as human-focused as dogs.
One research paper found that cats are ‘quite concerned about their owners’, monitoring their actions and anticipating our next moves.
Dr Carlo Siracusa told The Guardian: ‘Cats can’t make long-term plans. Some people think that [when] they leave the house, and their cat poops on the couch, it is so that when I return I have a nasty experience.
‘But cats do not have the ability to plan ahead in this way.’
He insisted that cats do get attached to humans but we’re just not great at understanding their behaviour, as our kisses and cuddles are not their way of interacting.
‘Cats don’t do anything like that. They are much more elegant,’ he explained. ‘They approach us. They bump their heads. Then they have some contact with us and walk away.’
Doechii ended up fighting with cat owners in her comments, telling them they were ‘too worked up’ over her comments.
She teased that the ‘feeling is mutual’ when told maybe cats don’t like her, refusing to back down except to tell one fan their cat has ‘pretty eyes’.
Looks like bizarre celebrity question this month might be their feelings on cats, someone better call Taylor Swift immediately for balance.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE: Demi Lovato says relationship with Wilmer Valderrama when she was 18 was ‘not ok’
MORE: Gwyneth Paltrow suffers outfit mishap as she attends first Actors Awards in 26 years
MORE: ‘Nepo baby’ Kate Hudson slammed for saying she’s ‘not that rich’ on red carpet