Candice Patton made history by debuting as Iris West on ‘The Flash‘ in 2014. Her casting pushed representation in comic book adaptations forward in massive ways as her character was supposed to be white.
But, even as the actress changed the course of history onscreen, her experience off-screen was quite upsetting. She had to deal with the backlash from toxic and racist “fans” online. All the backlash made her want to leave the series after only two seasons.
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Candice Patton Faced “Abuse And Harassment” From Fans Of ‘The Flash’
In a new interview with ‘The Open Up Podcast,’ Candice Patton detailed the extent of the “abuse and harassment” she received for playing the role of Iris. “It was hard in that aspect, the on-set aspect. I wanted to leave the show as early as season 2,” she revealed. “I remember being like, ‘I can’t do this, I’m not going to make it through, I’m severely unhappy.'”
The actress has always felt a responsibility to create “spaces for women of color” in the superhero genre. But as a result, she had to endure a lot. “It’s a dangerous place to be in when you’re one of the first, and you’re facing backlash for it and there’s no help,” she said. “Now people understand a little better. They understand how fans can be racist — especially in genre [adaptations] — and misogynistic. But at the time it was kind of like, ‘Yeah, that’s how fans are, but whatever.'”
Patton claimed that The CW and Warner Bros. TV, the network and studio behind ‘The Flash,’ didn’t properly protect her from the casting backlash. “Even with the companies I was working with, The CW and WB, that was their way of handling it,” she added. “We know better now that it’s not okay to treat your talent that way and to let them go through this abuse and harassment. But for me in 2014, there were no support systems. No one was looking out for that. It was just free range to get abused every single day. There were no social media protocols in place to protect me, so they just let all that stuff sit there.”
Patton Claims She Was Treated Differently From Her White Co-Stars
The ‘Sorority Forever‘ star called out the Hollywood production companies. She said, “It’s just not enough to make me your lead female and say, ‘Look at us, we’re so progressive, we checked the box.’ It’s great, but you’ve put me in the ocean alone around sharks. It’s great to be in the ocean, but I can get eaten alive out here.” That’s why, according to Patton, “there has to be people in positions of power who understand my experience and understand the Black experience and the Black female experience who can say, ‘She needs protection.’ Any time you hire a minority of any kind you have to be prepared to protect them. In the real world, we are not protected. So just because you put us on a fancy Hollywood set, with the hair and makeup and you assume we’re safe, we are not safe.”
Patton also explained that she saw her white co-stars treated differently than her on set, adding to her sadness. “It was more about the protocols in place and the things I see happening for the white counterparts that’s not happening to me,” she said. “Seeing how I was treated differently than other people, seeing how I’m not protected by the network and the studio, those were the things that not necessarily hurt me but frustrated me.”
Ultimately, Patton decided to stay on ‘The Flash,’ which is currently in its eighth season. The actress said she felt a responsibility to the fans she represented to portray the historic, inclusive role. While she will be returning for season 9, Patton said she isn’t sure if that one will be her last.
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