Riverdale's Ashleigh Murray Says Candice Patton Paved The Way For Her To Play Josie McCoy

Over the weekend, Ashleigh Murray gave some praise to Candice Patton, who paved the way for her to play Josie McCoy on Riverdale.

During the PopSugar Play/Ground panel, the two stars opened up about playing typically roles on television that were originally portrayed as white women.

“Comic book fans are very opinionated [and] very vocal,” Candice first shared, noting the comments she got when she first started to play Iris on The Flash. “So it was very scary stepping into that role when I started the show.”

She did get negative comments and dealing with the harassment wasn’t a walk in the park at all – but it did get better.

“Over time, people have embraced me and embraced this character, and I know it’s really important,” she said. “What’s great is that in years to come, people will remember Iris West as being African American.”

In fact, Candice playing Iris has paved the way for Ashleigh to play Josie, another typically white role.

Ashleigh, too, got the negative comments.

“Now it’s just white noise,” she shared. “I don’t even notice it or see it much anymore. And it’s probably thanks to [Candice], because if you had to go through it before I did, you probably made the transition a little bit easier.”

That’s an amazing legacy to have.

Both Riverdale and The Flash will return this fall on The CW.