‘Kitty karma’? Jessie Buckley tries to claw back approval after enraging cat-lovers

Oscar favourite insists she is a ‘lover of cats’ after telling podcast about ultimatum she once gave to now-husband If Jessie Buckley fails to win the Oscar for best actress next week it will be a sign that cat lovers have got their claws out. The Irish actor is the runaway favourite for her performance in Hamnet, but in recent days has stumbled into a controversy over a stated antipathy to cats. She has said she once gave her husband an ultimatum to banish his two cats because they would defecate on pillows, telling a podcast: “I was like, ‘it’s me or the cats.’” Cat-lovers have responded with indignation and condemnation, sparking a wave of headlines and warnings that “kitty karma” could deny Buckley, 36, her first Academy award. She attempted to repair the damage on Jimmy Fallon’s chatshow on Thursday, saying it was a “misconception” that she loathed cats. “I am a lover of cats. I woke up this morning [thinking]: does the world think that I really don’t love cats? And it’s really weighed on me all day. I felt sick.” Buckley said she had auditioned in vain for the 2019 musical Cats. “I gave the worst audition of my life. It was so hot. I was swea