One of the stars of CW’s teen drama series, Riverdale, is speaking out against the series for their treatment of black actors.
On Sunday, Vanessa Morgan fired off a tweet that she later confirmed was indeed about Riverdale, saying, “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 nondimensional characters to our white leads. Or only used in the ads for diversity but not actually in the show.” On Tuesday, when asked if she was referencing her current employer, Morgan responded, “Imagine they’re getting so much more bang for their buck bc ur part of an lgbt storyline too, double the diversity – DOUBLE UR PAYCHECK IMO.” She went on to add, “Too bad I’m the only black series regular but also paid the least. Girl, I could go on for days.”
Morgan, who portrays the role of Toni Topaz, has been a regular on the series since the third season of the hit show, after initially joining as a recurring cast member in season 2. She is the only black actor out of nearly 15 regulars on the show. Despite fellow black actress, Ashleigh Murray starring in the series as Josie McCoy during the first three seasons before moving on to its spinoff, Katy Keene, both she and Morgan characters have often lingered in the background while the storylines of their white counterparts have taken center stage.
The 28-year-old actress and wife also took aim at another user who called Murray a diva and being the reason that the Pussycats (which was the name of the fictional band in the show) were written off the series.
“You don’t know what the f**k your talking about and don’t talk about my friend like that. Another thing i hate BLACK women being called DIVAS for sticking up for themselves. Maybe the show should write for her like the white characters. You picked the wrong day get off my page.”
CW has yet to respond to Morgan’s claims.
