Chelsea Clinton's First Foray Into Acting Didn't Go As Planned

Chelsea Clinton is a remarkably accomplished young woman. The former first daughter has enjoyed a stunning transformation since leaving The White House and, although Chelsea didn't follow her parents into politics, she was her mom, Hillary Clinton's, clone during an appearance at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival. Chelsea predominantly works as an writer, publishing her first book in 2015. She's also notably the vice chair of the Clinton Foundation, a philanthropic organization founded by her father. Over the years Chelsea has dipped her toe into Hollywood too, producing several projects including 2022's "Lyra," a documentary about slain investigative journalist Lyra McKee. As it turns out, the New York Times bestselling author has a deeper connection to Northern Ireland since Chelsea cameoed in the final episode of beloved sitcom "Derry Girls." 

The hilarious moment is a callback to an earlier installment during which the central group sends a letter to Chelsea prior to President Bill Clinton's real-life visit to Derry. A present-day Chelsea finally receives the letter and, in voiceover, reads it aloud. Ostensibly a sweet way to tie everything up neatly before "Derry Girls" bowed out for good, online fans complained that Chelsea's inclusion ruined an otherwise perfect ending. According to Decider, one tweet on X, formerly known as Twitter, from a since-suspended account raged, "THE SHOW HAD A PERFECTLY GOOD ENDING WHY THE F**K DID THEY BRING IN CHELSEA CLINTON F**K OFFFFF" while another admitted, "Still recovering from getting jumpscared by Chelsea Clinton on Derry Girls that s**t was so scary." 

It's worth noting that plenty of "Derry Girls" fans thought including Chelsea Clinton in the finale was a smart idea, with one pointing out on X that it wrapped up a dangling thread from Season 2. Besides, series creator Lisa McGee was fully in favor of it. Sadly, over on Reddit, the mood was decidedly negative with users echoing the argument that the show should've cut to black after everybody cast their votes in the Good Friday Agreement, which was a defining moment in the Northern Irish peace process. Several fans reckoned that the show sullied the impact of this moment by including Clinton. 

"It felt forced, as though they wanted to fit Chelsea into the show last minute so they stuck that scene onto the end," wrote one Redditor. "Overall I loved this finale, but also wasn't a fan of this scene, especially with it being how it all ended." However, there were plenty of people who asserted that, aside from tying into the gang's earlier shenanigans, the scene had a deeper meaning too. 

McGee once wrote a letter to Clinton when she was a teenager herself, inviting the then-first daughter to the local cinema during her father's trip to her hometown, which was later covered on the show. "She never replied," the "Derry Girls" creator confirmed to The New York Times, adding, "The innocence of that. Living in this place that's violent and scary, but we were these eejits running about writing letters to Chelsea Clinton."

Chelsea Clinton lived out her teenage years in The White House so she probably would've appreciated an invite to a movie during an otherwise boring work trip with her parents. Or, even better, as Erin and the rest of the gang intended, a visit to the local indoor pool where, crucially, the wave machine was definitely back up and running again. Speaking about her cameo with NME, Chelsea emphasized the importance of increasing awareness worldwide about this particular chapter of Northern Irish history, shouting out Lisa McGee for making it more comprehensible.

She gushed, "Like many, I am a big fan of the series, and I was honored to be able to appear in the very special final episode. I hope people enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed being a part of it." Obviously, the response from fans was mixed, but it's unlikely the former first daughter gave it too much thought since Chelsea evidently took part to bring greater attention to the peace process rather than to promote herself. The outspoken activist's parents were no doubt proud of her too, since Hillary Clinton is on record as being a massive "Derry Girls" fan.

As Derry Daily reported, during a 2022 visit to the UK, the former secretary of state enthused to The Shields Gazette, "I think [the show] is spot on. I think it is glorious. It is so funny and so clever and so smart." However, Hillary notably hadn't finished "Derry Girls" at the time so she couldn't comment on Chelsesa's appearance.