Tonight’s episode of Riverdale showcased a bit of a shake-up to the status quo of Riverdale High, when Valerie Brown (Hayley Law) quit The Pussycats to work on music with Archie Andrews (KJ Apa).
While The Pussycats spent some time looking for a new member, they quickly found one when Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes) passionately volunteered to join the group.
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But how do the other members feel about the new member of their tight-knit group? We spoke to Ashleigh Murray, who plays Pussycats front-woman Josie McCoy, about how Josie processes having Veronica in the band.
“Well we didn’t invite her necessarily, she forced her way in.” Murray joked.
But according to Murray, Josie welcomes the idea, given the pressure put on her by both of her parents to perform well at the school Variety Show. In particular, the conversation Josie had with her mom Sierra (Robin Givens), about finding an awesome woman of color to fill Valerie’s spot, apparently stuck in Josie’s mind.
“Her mom was like, ‘Remember the branding.’ and I made the choice to be upset by that notion.” Murray explained, referring to how she chose to play that particular scene. “Like ‘Okay, my mom wants to be sure that it’s a woman of color and I get that, but what if somebody comes along and they aren’t, but they can sing?’ And then Veronica comes along and she fits the bill perfectly in every way: she has the talent, and also I can say ‘Hey mom! She’s Brazilian! It’s great! Now everybody’s happy!’”
Although it’s unclear exactly how long Veronica will stay with the group, Murray reassured that she is a welcome addition, regardless of the circumstances in which she joined the group. “It’s great. How can you say no to Veronica? You can’t!” Murray said, before referencing the ‘seven minutes in heaven’ that Veronica shared with a certain redhead in the show’s pilot episode. “Archie didn’t.”
More Riverdale: Ashleigh Murray on performing in the classic Josie costume | Riverdale teases Afterlife With Archie | Camila Mendes: Veronica wants to trust her parents, but can’t | Lili Reinhart shoots down a popular fan theory
Riverdale airs Thursday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
