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“Riverdale’s” Bernadette Beck is the second actress of color to call out the CW show for diversity issues. After Vanessa Morgan said in June that series creators used black characters as “sidekick non dimensional characters to our white leads,” Beck is now saying that her character, Peaches ‘N Cream, “never had much of a story …
“Riverdale’s” Bernadette Beck is the second actress of color to call out the CW show for diversity issues.
After Vanessa Morgan said in June that series creators used black characters as “sidekick non dimensional characters to our white leads,” Beck is now saying that her character, Peaches ‘N Cream, “never had much of a story plot or enough character development to even be considered an antagonist.”
“I was, for no reason, depicted in a very negative, unattractive light,” Beck, 26, told ELLE this week. “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.”
“I was made out to be a very unlikable character and therefore, an unlikable person in people’s eyes,” she added.
The actress alleged that producers asked her to act “sassy” because her character is someone who “always speaks her mind.”
She also recognized the long-term implications from portraying people of color as “unlikable” in a series.
“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,” Beck told ELLE. “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.”
Bernadette Beck on “Riverdale”
The CW
Bernadette Beck and the cast of “Riverdale”
The CW
Aside from perpetrating negative stereotypes, Beck said she often felt “invisible” on set.
Beck has been on roughly ten episodes of the show starting in 2019, according to IMDb.
“Riverdale” creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa previously recognized that change needed to happen on the show.
In an apology to Morgan, 28, he said, “She’s right. We will do better to honor her and the character she plays. As well as all of our actors and characters of color.”
He added, “Riverdale will get bigger, not smaller. Riverdale will be part of the movement, not outside it.”
A rep for Aguirre-Sacasa could not immediately be reached for comment on Beck’s remarks.
