[ad_1]
Perhaps she needs new friends?
“Bridgerton” star Charithra Chandran claimed her friends cruelly stated she was a diversity hire after she was cast in the wildly popular period drama.
The British actress, 25, made the shocking revelation in an interview with The Telegraph on Sunday, describing the comments as “harmful.”
“I’ve had friends say to me, ‘Oh you got that because you’re brown,’ and that really hurts,” Chandran stated. “[And] What’s really scary is that you can start believing it.”
The starlet – who is of Indian descent — has been cast as debutante Edwina Sharma in the second season of the steamy series, set to hit Netflix on Friday.
“Bridgerton” is based on the best-selling novels by Julia Quinn, in which the character of Sharma is white.
However, the TV adaptation has diversified the source material, with the series casting stars of various races, despite being set in Regency-era England.
Some critics have complained about the “historical inaccuracy” of the multiracial cast, while others have praised the series for its inclusivity.
“I think that ‘Bridgerton’ has done for TV what ‘Hamilton’ did for theatre,” Chandran told The Telegraph. “It encouraged a totally different audience to watch period drama and romances. And it made us feel seen on screen.”
Still, the star hopes to see more diversity behind the scenes, as well as on-screen.
“I would love to see more crew who are black and brown. I think that’s really important. We should be careful about just sort of window dressing,” she declared.
The highly-anticipated second season of “Bridgerton” will chronicle the exploits of Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) and his journey to find a suitable wife.
Chandran will take a lead role as Edwina Sharma, who becomes romantically entangled with the leading man.
However, a recently-released trailer appears to indicate that the romance will be rocky, potentially thwarted by Sharma’s sister, Kate.
Fans went wild after the trailer’s release, with one person writing on YouTube: “As a dark skinned Indian-American woman, for the first time in my life, I can see someone who looks like me being considered a desirable love interest in mainstream media with no caveats. Honestly I feel more moved than I thought I would. I can’t even explain, representation matters so so much.”
Season two of “Bridgerton” debuts on Netflix Friday, March 25, 2022.
[ad_2]