Actress Candice Patton, who has starred on The Flash since the show’s inception in 2014, laments that she was “not protected” against racist comments from fans — that producers at the CW and Warner Brothers had a “whatever” attitude with regards to handling it.
Patton said in a recent interview on The Open Up podcast that fans’ racism toward her was shrugged off by the CW and Warner Bros. in the early days of the series.
“In 2014, there were no support systems,” the actress said. “No one was looking out for that. It was just free range to get abused every single day.”
“It’s a dangerous place to be in when you’re one of the first, and you’re facing backlash for it and there’s no help,” Patton said of being one of the first black actresses in the DC TV Universe.
“Now, people understand a little better and they understand how fans can be racist, especially in genre, and misogynistic,” she continued. “But at the time it was kind of like: ‘Yeah that’s how fans are, but whatever.'”
Patton remarked that “with the companies I was working with like CW and Warner Brothers, that [‘whatever’] was their way of handling it. I think we know better now that it’s not okay to treat your talent that way and to let them go through this abuse and harassment.”
“I wanted to leave the show as early as season two. I remember being like: ‘I can’t do this, I’m not gonna make it through, I’m severely unhappy,'” she added.
Patton also claimed that she was treated differently than white actors.
“It was more about the protocols in place and the things I see happening for my white counterpart that’s not happening to me,” she said. “Seeing how I was treated differently than other people. Seeing how I’m not protected by the network and the studio. Those were the things that not necessarily hurt me but frustrated me.”
Patton is not the only actor to call out the entertainment industry for alleged racism.
Inn April, Academy Award-winning actress Viola Davis said “you either have to be a black female version of a white ideal, or you have to be white” in order to succeed in Hollywood — an industry that claims to be liberal and inclusive.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.