The Flash star Candice Patton opened up about her experience dealing with abuse and harassment from fans.
The CW’s The Flash decided to go in a different direction when they cast Candice Patton as Iris West, who is traditionally white in the comics. Unfortunately, casting backlash from people quickly followed due to the change. Patton, who recently committed to the show’s ninth season, revealed on The Open Up Podcast that she almost left the series after season two because of the backlash.
No Support From The CW or Warner Bros.
We’ve seen this recently in the Star Wars community with Obi-Wan Kenobi star Moses Ingram as well. Ewan McGregor notably sent out a video to side with Ingram and called out toxic fans, but Candice Patton says she didn’t receive the same support:
“Even with the companies I was working with, The CW and WB, that was their way of handling it. 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.”
Candice Patton also noticed that she was treated differently from others on The Flash:
“It was more about the protocols in place and the things I see happening for my white counterparts that’s not happening to me. 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.”
Here is the synopsis for The Flash season eight finale, “Negative, Part Two”:
“With The Flash still reeling from everything that just happened, the rest of the team rallies to support him when he needs it the most.”
The CW series stars Grant Gustin, Candice Patton, Danielle Panabaker, Danielle Nicolet, Kayla Compton, Brandon McKnight, and Jesse L. Martin.
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Source: The Open Up Podcast
