“Kitty Karma”? Jessie Buckley tries to regain approval after angering cat lovers | Jesse Buckley

If Jessie Buckley fails to win the Academy Award for Best Actress next week, it will be a sign that cat lovers have their claws out.

The Irish actress is the favorite for her performance in Hamnet, but in recent days she has been mired in controversy over her declared hatred of cats.

She said she once gave her husband an ultimatum to put his two cats away because they were defecating on the pillows. “I was like, ‘Me or the cats,'” she said on a podcast.

Cat lovers responded with indignation and condemnation, sparking a wave of headlines and warnings that “cat karma” could deprive Buckley, 36, of her first Academy Award.

She attempted to repair the damage on Jimmy Fallon’s chat show on Thursday, saying it was a “misconception” that she hated cats. “I’m a cat lover. I woke up this morning [thinking]: Does the world think I don’t really like cats? It weighed on me all day. “I felt sick.”

Buckley said she unsuccessfully auditioned for the 2019 musical Cats. “I had the worst audition of my life. It was so hot. I was sweating. I was licking my paws, like I was trying to jump. I was like the hoof of an Irish woman jumping and licking her paws.”

Earlier this week, Grammy Award-winning rapper Doechii sparked online backlash after declaring that cats are unfriendly and unwanted.

Buckley’s performance as Shakespeare’s Agnes in Hamnet has earned her numerous awards, including a Critics’ Choice Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Actor Awards, and she is nominated to win the Academy Award in Los Angeles on March 15.

However, last week, the Happy Sad Confused podcast clip, which was recorded last November with star Paul Mescal, resurfaced. When asked whether they preferred cats or dogs, they both chose the latter. “Fuck the Cats, frankly. Fuck them,” Mescal said.

Buckley said that when she was dating her now-husband, one of his cats was a “pedigreed prototypical whore” who organized a “coup” against her. “I would come home and find feces on the pillow.”

“I won,” said Buckley, who triumphed over the pets.

The exchange went viral, with pet lovers accusing the actor of being mean and controlling, and failing to understand how much he loves cats.

Ireland is eyeing the Kerry actor to win an Oscar, but some are warning of a ‘karma kitty’. Ed Power, a cat-loving columnist for the Irish Times, said he had not seen Hamnet. “But if that were the case, I would want to build a time machine and go back and skip it.”