Vanessa Morgan is holding her own show accountable. The Riverdale star called out the CW drama for not giving black characters prominent story lines amid the Black Lives Matter movement.
The 28-year-old actress, who portrays Toni Topaz on the show, first spoke out on Sunday, May 31.
“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,” she wrote in a message shared via Twitter. “Or only used in the ads for diversity but not actually in the show.”
Two days later, Morgan made it clear she was talking about Riverdale after a social media user pointed that her character is also part of the LGBTQ community.
“Lmao too bad I’m the only black series regular but also paid the least 😂👏🏽 girl i could go on for days 🐸,” Morgan tweeted on Tuesday, June 2.
She added that Toni is being “used as the token biracial bisexual” on the series, which is set to begin production on its fifth season this summer.
Morgan joined the cast of Riverdale during season 2. She was promoted to a series regular ahead of season 3 as her character entered a relationship with Madelaine Petsch‘s Cheryl Blossom.
The teen drama star later clarified on Tuesday that she wasn’t upset with the cast, which includes Petsch, K.J. Apa, Lili Reinhart, Camila Mendes and Cole Sprouse.
“My role on Riverdale has nothing to do with my fellow castmates/friends,” Morgan tweeted. “They don’t write the show. So no need to attack them, they don’t call the shots & I know they have my back. ♥️”
Morgan recently came to the defense of former Riverdale costar Ashleigh Murray, who left the series to star in the show’s spinoff, Katy Keene, alongside Lucy Hale. In a since-deleted tweet, Murray, who played Josie, was labeled a “diva” by a social media user.
“You don’t know what the f—k your talking about and don’t talk about my friend like that,” Morgan tweeted on Sunday. “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.”
Murray, for her part, added that she loves Josie and the Pussycats “more than any show ever did.”
“If it were up to me, we’d have our own show,” she tweeted. “And you obviously don’t watch Katy Keene because sis is surrounded by women. So f—k all the way off.”
Us Weekly has reached out to the CW for a comment.
For more information, visit Blacklivesmatter.com.
