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Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh has called out the TV industry for failing to light black actors incorrectly.
Andoh, 61, plays the Queen’s personal confidante, Lady Danbury in the hit netflix show, and she has suggested that she faced problems behind-the-scenes when it came to being lighted.
In an interview on Miquita Oliver’s Stirring It Up podcast, Andoh said: “The continuing conversation about lighting Black skin on every show. Nothing’s changed. They’re getting better, so I suppose I feel powerful in that I will now go, ‘Am I blonde?’”
The Shonda Rhimes-produced series has been lauded for its celebration of diversity, although some of its storylines have led to backlash from some fans. Unlike many period dramas, Bridgerton features a racially diverse cast of actors, including British-Zimbabwean actor Regé-Jean Page as season one’s romantic lead, the Duke of Hastings.
However, Andoh explained that the pressure to constantly raise important issues can be exhausting.
“I hate doing it because a bit of me is like, ‘Oh, I don’t want to do it, I don’t want to make a fuss’. I don’t want to because I want to come and do my work.
“I don’t want to have to walk onto set [and raise an issue]. I want to be Lady Danbury and be totally engaged in that.
“When people say we’re being chippy or militant, I want to say that I’m just a human being and I just want to do the gift I’m blessed with and I want to do it in a free way.
“I’m not asking for a special revelation – I just want to live in my gift.”
She described the battle with production teams as “very tiring and very distracting”, adding “that’s not my sh** – I don’t want to talk about it”.
Andoh revealed how she worked closely with Rhimes to bring in elements of her character’s West African heritage, as well as working with the show’s costume designer to bring in cultural elements to Lady Danbury’s jewellry design.
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Leading star Nicola Coughlan, previously hit out at critics who said the programme was too diverse.
“You know the way some people were like ‘Diversity in period drama doesn’t work’.... 63 million households thought it did tho so [sic],” the Derry Girls actor tweeted in January 2021 when the news that the show had reached 63 million households since its release.
“Remember people were trying to downvote the show on IMDb cos it was so diverse? You can’t downvote us being Netflix fifth biggest original release ever.”
