Candice Patton did not have an uncomplicated commence as Iris West on “The Flash.”
The actor reported recently that her early times on the CW clearly show bundled racist backlash on social media and recalled how she felt the community and the studio, Warner Bros. Tv, did not do enough to shield her from harassment.
“There had been no help programs, no a person was on the lookout out for that,” Patton claimed on the latest episode of “The Open Up Podcast.” “It was just absolutely free assortment to get abused just about every one working day because it’s taking place regardless.”
On becoming a member of “The Flash” forged in 2014, Patton obtained racist comments from comedian guide supporters for her portrayal of Barry Allen’s major other, Iris West. Patton is Black West was depicted as white in the authentic comic textbooks. She recalled that neither the CW nor Warner Bros. experienced any “social media protocols in place to secure me.”
“It’s just not enough to make me your lead woman and say, ‘Look at us, we’re so progressive, we checked the box,’” she continued. “It’s excellent, but you’ve set me in the ocean by yourself all around sharks.”
Patton said she seen she was being treated otherwise. She mentioned she would she would not obtain promotions “in the very same way they would encourage other people sometimes” and stated she experienced to go via her publicist to get the show’s official Instagram account to stick to her back.
“Those were being the items that not essentially damage me but pissed off me,” she reported.
8 seasons later, Patton is even now on the exhibit. Now, she reported, “It’s more leveled out.”
The actor claimed she in the beginning needed to leave “The Flash” as early as its next season but stayed on mainly because she felt a “huge obligation for the reason that my supporters beloved this character.”
“I understood how substantially this intended to so a lot of people that I felt a accountability to remain in a room and position that was possibly really toxic for my mental overall health,” she explained.
Representatives for the CW and Warner Bros. Tv did not comment.
Patton is not the to start with actor to occur ahead with allegations towards the CW. In Oct 2021, previous “Batwoman” star Ruby Rose stated she experienced poisonous performing conditions though on the CW sequence. Rose abruptly exited the show in 2020 soon after just one year.
Rose alleged that former Warner Bros. Television chairman Peter Roth compelled them to return to get the job done right after having surgical treatment for two herniated discs subsequent a stunt damage. They also alleged that Roth threatened to recast the direct “Batwoman” job.
Warner Bros. Television dismissed Rose’s claims as “revisionist historical past.”
In May, the CW created headlines immediately after canceling a whopping 7 sequence from its original programming slate, a selection of which highlighted assorted casts. “Batwoman,” “Legacies” and “Naomi” were between the canceled reveals.
Spared from the massacre was “The Flash,” which will return for a ninth time.
