Riverdale star Bernadette Beck says she was cast on show to ‘fulfil diversity quota’

‘I’m not the first black actress to stand there, chew gum, and look sassy and mean,’ actor said

Riverdale star Bernadette Beck has criticised the show for not fully developing its black characters.

The actor, who played Peaches ‘N Cream on the third and fourth seasons of the Netflix teen drama, told Elle that she was often ignored on set or asked to behave in a “sassy” way with no motivation.

“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 said.

Describing being depicted in a “negative, unattractive light”, she continued: “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 fulfil a diversity quota. It’s just to fulfil points.”

Beck claims that playing such an unlikeable character on the show, which airs on The CW in the US, made her an easy target for hate from Riverdale fans.

“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,” she said. “What kind of opportunities are we losing out on even after… if we don’t necessarily get that, and we’re looked at with disdain, what does that do to us?”

The Independent has contacted Riverdale showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa for comment.

Riverdale originally came under fire for its alleged attitudes towards its black cast members after actor Vanessa Morgan claimed that she was “the only black series regular but also paid the least” of her co-stars.

“Tired of how black people are portrayed in media… 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 wrote on social media in response to the Black Lives Matter movement.