'The Flash' star Candice Patton slams Warner Bros, The CW for doing NOTHING to protect her from abuse
Fans of the series 'The Flash' can never forget actress Candice Patton, who played Iris West-Allen, the wife of Barry Allen. The series was part of the network's successful 'superhero-verse' that interlinked several popular CW shows like 'Arrow', 'Supergirl' and 'Batwoman'. It began airing in October of 2014 and concluded its eighth season in June 2022 — proof of how popular it was with fans. But it wasn't all smooth sailing, according to Patton, who was a part of the series from beginning to end.
The actress says that she faced the wrath of racist and misogynistic 'genre fans' during the early seasons of series, which nearly made her quit the show. But she alleged that Warner Bros., the parent company, and the network, The CW, did absolutely nothing to support or protect her from the racist backlash against her, dismissing the disturbing fan behaviour as 'normal'.
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'The Flash' has been an absolute favourite for people for years now. But what we probably don't know the hate comments directed toward some of its cast members from 'fans' of the show. We know Candice Patton played Iris in the series and was primarily written as a love interest for Barry Allen, played by Grant Gustin. But after the first few seasons, Iris became a strong protagonist in her own right as the series developed.
In an interview on 'The Open Up Podcast', Candice says that she faced racist backlash from the show's viewers during the early seasons of the series but that WB and CW did nothing to help her. She said that "there were no support systems, no one was looking out for that," and that "it was just free range to get abused every single day." Patton was one of the first Black actresses to play a major role in the 'Arrowverse', and she says that it was because of that that the studios didn't understand how severe the problem could be. In the interview, Patton notes that some genre fans can be both racist and misogynistic. Same as how 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' star Moses Ingram dealt with racist backlash earlier this Summer, Patton had a similar trial by fire before she established her character and won over the audience.
She stated, "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. Now, people understand a little better and they understand how fans can be racist, especially in genre, and misogynistic. But at the time it was kind of like: ‘Yeah that’s how fans are, but whatever.'... With the companies I was working with like CW and Warner Brothers, that was their way of handling it. I think 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."
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This made the star want to leave the show as early as Season two, but she decided to stick with the series because she felt responsible for having important representation in the series. Candice agrees on how times have switched to having people that are empathetic towards the minority actors who are targets to hideous outlash. However, Ingram's ordeal proves that there is still more work that needs to be done. However, whereas Ingram found support from Lucasfilm, Disney, and her fellow co-stars, Patton says she was also harassed by the very system that was supposed to be supporting her.