Adjoa Andoh Speaks Out: How Bridgerton Has Fallen Short in Supporting Black Performers
Adjoa Andoh plays Lady Agatha Danbury in the hit series – LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX© Provided by The Telegraph
Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh has said that the Netflix show’s success has done “nothing” to help black actors on set.
The British actress, who plays a Regency duchess in the hit series, also said that lighting for black cast members remained an issue “on every show”.
Andoh, 61, told the Stirring it up podcast, hosted by chef Andi Oliver and her television presenter daughter Miquita, that she now felt confident enough to challenge producers about their lighting choices.
“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?’,” she said.
“But 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.”
Andoh added: “I want to stay in character. I just want to come on and be Lady Danbury and do what she’s got to do and be totally engaged with that.”
Bridgerton returned for a third season earlier this year and has earned plaudits for its colour-blind casting – where actors play characters without regard to their own ethnicity or race.
However, Andoh lamented the response black actors received if they ask for better lighting.
“This is a big thing for me,” she said. “When people say we’re chippy or we’re being militant or we’re all that stuff, what I want to say is, ‘I’m just a human being and I just want to do the gift that I’m blessed with’.
“I want to do it in a free way like I see many other people doing.
“So I’m not asking for any special revelation, I’m not burning a building. I just want to live in my gift and I want to clear a path that allows me to simply be in my gift.”
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Bridgerton, Netflix: series 3, part 2
