put the race card down - a pissed off POC
As a person of colour, let me just say the Bridgerton fandom is genuinely one of the most uncomfortable spaces to exist in. Racism is not some petty internet sub-fandom drama. It’s a serious issue, and the way some of you handle it is embarrassing.
First off I need extreme Kanthonies and Benophies to understand that having a POC as your profile picture doesn’t magically cancel out your whiteness, or give you a free pass to weigh in on race issues that have never affected you. When you, as white people, generalise Polin stans as racist because they don’t care about your fictional ship, are you fucking for real? You made Luke and Nicola’s lives hell since S3 was announced, so sorry if I no longer care to support.
Y’all don’t actually care about racism—you just weaponise it to play the victim. This whole discourse started because Polin stans were minding their business, and some of you decided to photoshop a rat’s face onto Luke Newton, call him ugly, and mocking his ADHD. You’re bullies, but because he’s a white man, you’ve collectively decided he’s your punching bag.
You’re so adamant that production is horrifically racist towards Simone and Yerin—and maybe that’s true. But when Simone herself has said nothing but positive things about the show and production, why are you so desperate to paint her as a victim? You’re not defending her; you’re patronising a grown WOC with agency who can speak for herself, and projecting your own feelings onto her. Its wholly disingenuous to reduce her to a helpless victim when there is zero evidence to back up these claims aside from YOU being unhappy with promotion. Projecting your own feelings onto Simone and speaking for and over her is actually just as disrespectful as you are claiming production is being.
You dragged Charithra for months—a literal Guardian article called you out, and instead of reflecting, you complained it didn’t mention Kate/Simone. You compared Rege (who actually spoke out about racism) to your successful white fave just to criticize him for leaving the show. You claim to care about racism, but you won’t even advocate for the POC in this fandom who face racial profiling every day, instead choosing to attack them for having a different opinion to you over a FICTIONAL SHOW.
A large Kanthony account literally compared Blake Lively’s sexual harassment and smear campaign to Simone and Jonathan being “forced” to support their co-stars? Put the victim complexes on their behalf down for a second, I beg.
It’s honestly wild that a show with so much diversity has bred such a toxic fandom. If you actually care about racism, care about the actual people of colour in this fandom and stop using race as a weapon to justify your bullying. Also you can call out problematic people without attacking actors who have never done anything to you in the name of a ‘fan war’. You’re not helping anyone by being assholes