Riverdale fans love the relationship between Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones and when Vanessa Morgan was cast as Toni Topaz earlier this summer, some “Bughead” fans were so unhappy they started sending Morgan death threats. Now, the actress who plays Betty is addressing those threats.
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In a recent interview with Teen Vogue Lili Reinhart, who defended Morgan via post on Tumblr, said that the whole situation was “weird” and “disturbing” to her and that fans need to understand that the actors are playing roles and aren’t truly the characters.
“It’s so weird,” Reinhart said. “Frankly, it just is disturbing to me that people would even send these negative messages to Vanessa. I understand that people are super invested in our show, and in this world, and in these characters, but there needs to be a realization that Vanessa is not actually Toni Topaz. I am not actually Betty Cooper. Cole is not actually Jughead.”
The death threats were initially prompted by reports that Morgan’s Toni, who is a Southside Serpent and Jughead’s first friend at Southside High, may put a wedge in Betty and Jughead’s relationship. And it isn’t just death threats that Reinhart has had to address. The actress said she recently had her own situation with a fan not understanding the line between fiction and reality.
“That’s kind of something that goes along with an experience I had just recently with a fan really invading my personal space, and kind of running up to me, and me having to speak out and defend myself for not welcoming that sort of physical intrusion on my space,” Reinhart said. “People are kind of blurring the lines between real people and the characters that we play, and it’s important to remember that this is a show, and that these are parts that we play, and these are sets that we’re on.”
And Reinhart wants to make sure that fans know that, while their devotion is appreciated, there are boundaries that need to be respected.
“So, you cannot keep sending that negative attitude and energy toward an actor,” she said. “She’s only playing a part. And, again, it’s flattering that people are so invested in this relationship between Betty and Jughead. It’s just completely uncalled for, and inappropriate, to have anyone actually sending death threats to a character that may or may not come between Betty and Jughead. There’s a difference between the real world and television, and the line is being blurred a little bit.”
Riverdale‘s second season will premiere on a new night, on Wednesday, October 11th, at 8/7c, on The CW.
