'Riverdale' creator apologizes to Vanessa Morgan, vows to honor cast, characters of color

The CW's "Riverdale" is vowing to make changes amid a nationwide call for racial equality.

The drama's creator who also serves as an executive producer, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, released a statement to social media late Thursday in support of actress Vanessa Morgan, who expressed frustration with how black people are represented in media.

Morgan supported #BlackLivesMatter in a post Sunday, declaring she would not be "Quiet anymore" about her grievances.

"Tired of how black people are portrayed in Media, tired of us being portrayed as thugs, dangerous or angry scary people," the actress said in a statement. "Tired of us also being used as side kick non dimensional characters to our white leads. Or only used in the ads for diversity but not actually in the show.

"It starts with the media," she added.

"We hear Vanessa. We love Vanessa. She's right," Aguirre-Sacasa said in a statement shared to Instagram and Twitter of the actress who has played Toni Topaz since 2017. "We're sorry and we make the same promise to you that we did to her. We will do better to honor her and the character she plays. As well as all of our actors and characters of color.

"CHANGE is happening and will continue to happen," Aguirre-Sacasa added. "Riverdale will get bigger, not smaller. Riverdale will be part of the movement, not outside it."

Aguirre-Sacasa said the series' writers donated to Black Lives Matter – Los Angeles and understand "where the work must happen for us. In the writers' room."

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Tuesday, Morgan followed up with a message to her followers, clearing her fellow actors.

"My role on Riverdale has nothing to do with my fellow castmates/friends," she 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."

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Lili Reinhart who plays Betty Cooper on the series backed Morgan.

"We love you, V. And support you 10000%," she tweeted in response.

Asha Bromfield, who plays Melody Valentine, also voiced support.

"Don't even get me started with how Riverdale treated the Pussycats," Bromfield tweeted on Tuesday, in response to an article about Morgan's criticisms. "We had so much more to contribute than standing in the background and adding sass to a storyline. I stand with you @VanessaMorgan."

Thursday, Bromfield tweeted an article penned in 2018 for Refinery29 about a "lack of diversity on screen and my frustration with tokenism" titled "I Am Not Your Angry Archetype."

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Riverdale' creator apologizes to Vanessa Morgan for show's portrayal