Vanessa Morgan Slams Riverdale for Making Black Characters 'Sidekicks'

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https://tvline.com/2020/06/02/riverd...i-controversy/

Riverdale star Vanessa Morgan is speaking out against racial inequality in Hollywood — and that includes her own show.

Morgan, who plays Toni Topaz on the CW drama, posted a tweet on Sunday that says she’s “tired of how black people are portrayed in Media, tired of us being portrayed as thugs, dangerous or angry scary people. Tired of us also being used as sidekick non dimensional characters to our white leads. Or only used in the ads for diversity but not actually in the show.”

In case there was any doubt she was referring to Riverdale, Morgan added in a reply on Tuesday: “Too bad I’m the only black series regular but also paid the least. Girl I could go on for days.” (TVLine has reached out to The CW for comment.) Earlier, Morgan defended former co-star Ashleigh Murray, who played Josie, in a tweet, saying: “Maybe the show should write for [Josie] like the white characters.”

Morgan joined Riverdale in Season 2 as Toni, who began a relationship with Madelaine Petsch’s Cheryl Blossom and became one of the show’s core couples. Morgan was promoted to series regular at the start of Season 3 — and, as she says, she is currently the only African American series regular on Riverdale.

She cautioned fans not to take out their anger on her castmates, though, in a subsequent tweet on Tuesday: “My role on Riverdale has nothing to do with my fellow castmates/friends. They don’t write the show. So no need to attack them, they don’t call the shots & I know they have my back.”

Riverdale creator apologizes to Vanessa Morgan, vows to change in response to diversity criticism

Showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa responded to Morgan's criticism on Twitter earlier this week -- in response to the George Floyd protests -- that she's "tired of how black people are portrayed in the Media," specifically as sidekicks to white leads, while pointing out that “too bad I’m the only black series regular but also paid the least" on Riverdale. In a statement posted to social media last night, Aguirre-Sacaasa wrote: "We hear Vanessa. We love Vanessa. She’s right. We’re sorry and we make the same promise to you that we did to her. We will do better to honor her and the character she plays. As well as all of our actors and characters of color. CHANGE is happening and will continue to happen. Riverdale will get bigger, not smaller. Riverdale will be part of the movement, not outside it. All of the Riverdale writers made a donation to (Black Lives Matter), but we know where the work must happen for us. In the writers’ room.”

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Riverdale's Bernadette Beck: "I feel like I was just there to fulfill a diversity quota"

The actress, who is Black, echoed Riverdale star Vanessa Morgan's allegation that the show has little regard for Black actors. Beck appeared on Season 3 and 4 as the character Peaches ‘N Cream. “I was made out to be a very unlikable character and therefore, an unlikable person in people’s eyes,” Beck tells Elle, noting that she and Morgan's characters haven't had developed backstories. Despite having few lines of dialogue, Beck says on multiple occasions producers told her that she was supposed to appear "sassy" and that her character is someone who "always speaks her mind." “I get it, there’s always a protagonist and antagonist, but I never had much of a story plot or enough character development to even be considered an antagonist,” Beck says. “I was, for no reason, depicted in a very negative, unattractive light. And I’m not the first Black actress to show up on set, stand there, chew gum, and look sassy and mean. I feel like I was just there to fulfill a diversity quota. It’s just to fulfill points.”