Riverdale actor Vanessa Morgan (a.k.a Toni Topaz) made headlines in early June when she revealed she made less money than the rest of the show's main cast. (She's also the only Black lead.) “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," she posted to Twitter May 31, shortly after Black Lives Matter protests started happening in light of the death of George Floyd. In a reply to a fan she added, “Lmao too bad I’m the only black series regular but also paid the least.”
Riverdale creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa eventually responded to Morgan's statements, writing, “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 @BLMLA, but we know where the work must happen for us. In the writers’ room.”
But Morgan isn't the only Black actor on Riverdale to voice concerns with how the show is run. Bernadette Beck, a.k.a Peaches ‘N Cream, gave an interview to Elle outlining how Riverdale is failing its Black characters, hers included.
“I was made out to be a very unlikable character and therefore, an unlikable person in people’s eyes,” Beck told Elle about how her character is portrayed on the show.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BukWkalALUZ” data-instgrm-version=”8″>Beck goes on to say that producers have told her—on multiple occasions—that she's to appear “sassy” and that Peaches ‘N Cream is someone who “always speaks her mind,” even though she has very little actual dialogue. Instead, she's often seen chewing bubblegum and crossing her arms.
“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 told Elle. “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.”
In one instance, Beck says an episode director completely forgot about her. "I was completely forgotten in the scene more than once," she tells Elle. "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."
https://www.instagram.com/p/Brjafagndf0″ data-instgrm-version=”8″>Beck feeling like a quota to fulfill goes beyond her race. She was cast as a bisexual actor, though any bi representation for Peaches ‘N Cream has come in the form of harmful stereotypes, like always being down for a threesome. During one scene, she's instructed by Toni to have a threesome with her, and she agrees without thought or question. “When you’re in it, you’re going through the motions and you’re like, ‘Oh great, I finally get to be utilized!’” Beck says. “But when I saw it all put together, it made my character seem like she was down for anything.”
Peaches ‘N Cream's negative depiction has caused Beck IRL to receive death threats and harmful messages from Riverdale fans. She's demanding change.
“Some people say it’s just a TV show, but I’m thinking about the implications long-term. 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?" she says.
Read Beck's full interview with Elle here. We'll update this post if and when Aguirre-Sacasa and the Riverdale team respond.
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