Vanessa Morgan Slams Riverdale for Making Black Characters 'Sidekicks,' Adds She's the 'Least Paid' Regular
Riverdale star Vanessa Morgan is speaking out against racial inequality in Hollywood — and that includes her own show.
Morgan, who plays Toni Topaz on the CW drama, posted a tweet on Sunday that says 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 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.”
More from TVLine
In case there was any doubt she was referring to Riverdale, Morgan added in a reply on Tuesday: “Too bad I’m the only black series regular but also paid the least. Girl I could go on for days.” (TVLine has reached out to The CW for comment.) Earlier, Morgan defended former co-star Ashleigh Murray, who played Josie, in a tweet, saying: “Maybe the show should write for [Josie] like the white characters.”
Morgan joined Riverdale in Season 2 as Toni, who began a relationship with Madelaine Petsch’s Cheryl Blossom and became one of the show’s core couples. Morgan was promoted to series regular at the start of Season 3 — and, as she says, she is currently the only African American series regular on Riverdale.
She cautioned fans not to take out their anger on her castmates, though, in a subsequent tweet on Tuesday: “My role on Riverdale has nothing to do with my fellow castmates/friends. They don’t write the show. So no need to attack them, they don’t call the shots & I know they have my back.”
Does Morgan have a point? Is it time Toni got a storyline that didn’t revolve around Cheryl? Drop your thoughts in a comment below, Riverdale fans.
Best of TVLine
Sign up for TVLine's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
