‘Riverdale’ Actress Bernadette Beck Felt She Was Cast To Meet A Diversity Quota, Slams How Blacks Are Depicted

‘Riverdale’ Actress Bernadette Beck Felt She Was Cast To Meet A Diversity Quota, Slams How Blacks Are Depicted

The fight against systemic racism and racial inequality is urging more people to use their platform and voice to speak out against things that they feel are unjust.  Bernadette Beck from The CW’s ‘Riverdale‘ is now opening up about her experience on the show in a new interview with Elle.

In an Instagram post promoting her interview, Bernadette Beck posted a series of quotes that she mentioned and captioned it:

Bernadette Beck, who plays Peaches ‘N Cream on the show, says her of character

“I was made out to be a very unlikable character and therefore, an unlikable person in people’s eyes.”

She understood after getting the part on the show that it actually meant something for your character to be “likable,” in real life, not just on television.  The actress stated,

“If we are depicted as unlikable or our characters are not developed or we’re looked at as the enemy all the time, that affects our public persona. What kind of opportunities are we losing out on even after Riverdale? Our white co-stars are getting all this screen time and character development. They’re building up their following, generating more fans, selling out at conventions, and fans have more of an emotional connection with them. But if we don’t necessarily get that, and we’re looked at with disdain, what does that do to us and how does that stain our reputation moving forward?”

Beck took a stance and stood in solidarity with her fellow Black ‘Riverdale‘ castmate, Vanessa Morgan who mentioned on Twitter (May 31) that 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 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.”

Vanessa Morgan added another thought about the portrayal of Black women.

Similarly, Beck said she was told on several occasions by the director to appear “sassy” and noted that her character was always one to “speak her mind”.

Beck expressed,

“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.”

She continued,

“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.”

The actress also recalled having been forgotten about while on set several times.

“The director [would] be walking off set and I’d have to chase them down because I had no idea where to stand, what to do—I just hadn’t been given any instruction. You can’t treat people like they’re invisible and then pat yourself on the back for meeting your diversity quota for the day.”

Reportedly, Bernadette Beck became an easy target for the show’s young fanbase because of her character’s portrayal.  She was allegedly body shamed, received death threats, and experienced severe anxiety attacks because of it.

What are your thoughts on Bernadette Beck’s experience? Let us know in the comments.