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Fans Rally For Vanessa Morgan After Breaking Silence About Riverdale
The Riverdale star brought attention to how Black people are portrayed in the media and how she is the least-paid actor on the teen drama series.
Riverdale actress Vanessa Morgan is breaking her silence about the way her character is treated, and about the series' unfair pay inequality.
In response to the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement and peaceful protests that are happening all over the country, Morgan, who plays Riverdale's fan-favorite bisexual character Toni Topaz, made a public statement about the unfair treatment Black people and Black characters get in the media...
\u201cI\u2019m not being Quite anymore. \u270a\ud83c\udffd #BlackLivesMatter\u201d— Vanessa Morgan (@Vanessa Morgan) 1590932029
...and also revealed how she is Riverdale's least-paid series regular.
\u201c@oneofthosefaces Lmao too bad I\u2019m the only black series regular but also paid the least \ud83d\ude02\ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffd girl i could go on for days \ud83d\udc38\u201d— G (@G) 1591049305
"Tired of us being portrayed as thugs, dangerous, or angry scary people," she wrote. "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. It starts with the media. I’m not being quiet anymore."
While this entire situation is really frustrating, especially considering how Vanessa is the only Black series regular on Riverdale, her fans have been incredibly supportive AF, and the hashtag #HearVanessaMorgan was trending this week to help call for change.
\u201c#HearVanessaMorgan because it didn\u2019t just start with her. They fucked over Josie and The Pussycats bad after they claimed they wanted that strong diversity. Sadly one barely got 30 words in for 2 seasons (Melody \u2764\ufe0f). I respect them all for speaking out against the bullshit.\u201d— SJ\ud83c\udccf (@SJ\ud83c\udccf) 1591309131
\u201c#HearVanessaMorgan cause badass Toni Topaz was reduced to a side character who says \u201cbabe\u201d once in 5 episodes,Josie and The Pussycats never got proper treatment,Chuck had character development just to be written out, Mad Dog doesn\u2019t even get lines. Black characters deserve better\u201d— Barchie Updates (@Barchie Updates) 1591315986
\u201cshe has constantly shown her frustration for being mistreated and now we are showing it with her. She\u2019s is an amazing talented woman who deserves better. Don\u2019t just use her to promote false diversity. Treat her how she deserves to be treated #hearvanessamorgan\u201d— alex (@alex) 1591313659
\u201cthe riverdale writers consistently sidelining or writing off their black characters does not go unoticed. ITS TIME FOR A CHANGE!!! \u2764\ufe0f#hearvanessamorgan\u201d— . (@.) 1591311056
\u201c#hearvanessamorgan \n@RiverdaleWriter \nyou shamelessly wrote off many Black characters and you don't even care about the ones who\u2019re still on the show. \nyou treat your Black actors like sh*t and you don't pay them equally. this blatant discrimination became painfully obvious now.\u201d— \u0633 | bp\u2019s day only (@\u0633 | bp\u2019s day only) 1591313861
\u201cRiverdale S4 had 19 episodes. Vanessa was in 15. A lot you gonna say right? In 90% of them, she was in the background doing nothing. IF she had any lines, it would be 1-2 lines per episodes or less. It keeps getting worse as the seasons go on.\n\n#HearVanessaMorgan\u201d— j (@j) 1591314218
\u201cthree years later and vanessa is still asking for the same thing, the same treatement. it needs to change #hearvanessamorgan \u201d— stacie (@stacie) 1591312131
In the aftermath of Vanessa's revelations about her pay and her character's treatment on the show, Riverdale creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa issued a formal apology on his Instagram account.
"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. "
He continued:
"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 @BLMLA (Black Lives Matter Los Angeles), but we know where the work must happen for us. In the writers' room."
Raffy is a Los Angeles-based writer, editor, video creator, critic, and digital director of Out Magazine. The former editor-in-chief of PRIDE, he is also a die-hard Rihanna and Sailor Moon stan who loves to write about all things pop culture, entertainment, and identities. Follow him on Instagram (@raffyermac) and Twitter (@byraffy), and subscribe to his YouTube channel.
Raffy is a Los Angeles-based writer, editor, video creator, critic, and digital director of Out Magazine. The former editor-in-chief of PRIDE, he is also a die-hard Rihanna and Sailor Moon stan who loves to write about all things pop culture, entertainment, and identities. Follow him on Instagram (@raffyermac) and Twitter (@byraffy), and subscribe to his YouTube channel.
