Racist fans are quite literally the WORST! They don’t understand why a writer would change a well-known character from being white to black or why a person of colour has a role amongst a largely Caucasian cast of individuals. Diversity is key to the success many fandoms have. So, why are racists so determined to make their chosen fandoms boring by having every character the same skin colour? It’s an outdated view and it needs to stop.
I have always respected people for who they are as individuals. Not because of the colour of their skin. I had a best friend when I was growing up who was Indian. My parents taught me to treat people equally, regardless of skintone. That is why I love actors like Morgan Freeman, Chris Rock, Raven-Symoné, John Boyega, Anjelika Washington, just to name a handful. They bring so many life to the characters they play on screen and I am proud to be a fan.
Now, I’m a white woman and I admit to that. Sure, I might have white privilege because of the colour of my skin, but I don’t go around flaunting it the way other people do. Looking at you, Jessica Mulroney! Diversity should never be seen as a dirty phrase. It should embraced. Unfortunately, the world doesn’t work that way and will never be a utopia.
I support Black Lives Matter because all lives matter regardless of people’s skin colour. People have called me tone deaf for my opinions, but I am not. I have friends who are black and I treat them like every white person I know, with respect.
The Reason This Post Was Written
Moving onto the reason for this Babes against Bullshit post, I wanted to talk about this because of a Twitter post a follower of mine posted. @pattonsdiop posted about the horrible treatment many black actors face in superhero projects. Here’s the tweet:
Now, a defence squad will fight against injustices and not insult others. They will call people out for bad behaviour in order to defend someone. They also do not bully those with opposing views. Meanwhile, a group of stans will bully others who do not agree with their views. One example of this is the infamous Sussex Squad.
These parasites who adore Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry have trolled the royal family and have called them horrible things. Same applies to the stans of Candice Patton. They make up fake rumours to ‘prove’ that she and co-star Danielle Panabaker are feuding and that Danielle is a ‘racist’. I’ve written about this before. I also did a follow up.
There is no denying that there are racist fans out there and there always will be why just don’t like the idea of diversity in the media. Think about all those people who said there would be never be a black President of the United States or a black woman Vice President. Barack Obama was adored. Kamala Harris will make an incredible VPOTUS when she and Joe Biden are sworn into office.
The reason we wanted to talk about this is because black actress Anjelika Washington who plays Beth Chapel/Doctor Mid-Nite has been the target is disgusting trolls.
We Stand For Diversity
Anjelika Washington plays Beth Chapel on DC’s newest superhero adventure, Stargirl. In the episode ‘Hourman and Doctor Mid-Nite’ Beth takes on the mantle of the second Doctor Mid-Nite. Now, the series itself is a comic book show like The Flash or Black Lightning.
What do both shows have in common? They have black lead characters. Stargirl is the same. Anjelika plays one of the lead characters alongside a largely white cast. The lead character is a white woman. This shouldn’t matter given how the characters are written to have equal footing.
Now for those who don’t know the first thing about Beth Chapel in the comics, she is black like in the show. However, racist fans don’t seem to care if the character has the same skin colour as her comic counterpart. They also don’t like the idea of her being a potential love interest to Cameron Gellman’s Rick Tyler who happens to be white.
In the eyes of racist fans, Beth shouldn’t even be a main character. They brand her as ‘useless’ because she’s the brains of the Justice Society rather than a fighter like the others. If they were on the writing team, they would write as simply being a just friend of Courtney rather than her friend and teammate.
This is wrong on a load of levels. Firstly, who are they to say that Beth is ‘useless’? These people who complain about something they have zero understanding off are the ‘useless’ ones. They have no control over the narrative and probably don’t know the definition of hard work. Anjelika worked her ass off to get where she is and having her career be targeted by trolls is not on!
Anjelika Is Not The Only Victim
Having a racist portion of a fanbase is nothing new. It happens in every fandom where diversity should matter and be addressed.
One example of this was when people complained that the cast of Black Panther was too black. Ahh… the movie is set in Africa and is telling the story of a fictional African nation where the people are in fact, black. Also, the follow the diversity from the comics, the characters are black. Why would you cast white actors to play African characters? That would be a massive case of whitewashing.
98% of Black Panther stars black actors. Andy Serkis and Martin Freeman were the only white actors to play a major role in the film. The same will apply for Black Panther II which will sadly be without Chadwick Boseman who died earlier this year. Though, it has been rumored that Letitia Wright will play a larger role in the film. Could she become the new Black Panther?
A second example are the racist comments John Boyega got for simply playing a black stormtrooper in Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.
Here’s the thing. When someone is dressed head to toe in Stormtrooper armour, you cannot see what they look like underneath unless they take off the helmet. For all we know, there could’ve been black skinned people in Stormtrooper armour in the other movies and we wouldn’t have known. It also doesn’t affect the plot of the story in any way.
Black Actors Are Not The Only Facing Diversity Issues
When it was announced that Australian actress, Ruby Rose had been cast as Kate Kane/Batwoman in the Arrowverse, people were less than happy. She was deemed not ‘gay enough’ and she is not Jewish the way the character is in the comics.
First off, Ruby is gay. She came out when she was 12. Also, religion does not play a big role in Batwoman. There has been references to how the Kanes are Jewish but there hasn’t been too important. When the trailers for the series started being dropped, the show was criticised by ‘fans’ for being too feminism. One of the trailers got a load of thumbs down on YouTube.
Now, jumping to the Ruby situation, and we have to question what gives people the right to say that a person is ‘gay enough’ to play a LGBTQ+ character? Absolutely no one! A load of films and television shows have had straight actors play gay and vice versa. Look at Brokeback Mountain for example. The late Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal were not gay. A second example are the actors who played Alec Lightwood and Magnus Bane in the series, Shadowhunters. Matthew Daddario and Harry Shum Jr aren’t gay and they were cast to play a gay character (Alec) and a bisexual character (Magnus) respectively.
Why Does Diversity Need To Be Understood And Addressed?
Racist fans have a way of thinking. They don’t like ‘change’. It’s disgusting that they want only white people to play superheroes or whatever else they’re complaining about. They call themselves fans but a true fan would never complain a person’s skin colour or their sexual orientation.
Sure, there is no right way to be fan, but to criticise someone due to their skin colour or sexual orientation is not on. This doesn’t make you a fan. It makes you a bigot, someone afraid that the world is going to change overnight.
