Aisha Dee has won over fans for four seasons, in her portrayal of Kat Edison on Freeform’s The Bold Type.
And the Australian actress recently got real about some of her experiences on the show, ahead of this week’s season four finale.
She penned a lengthy heartfelt letter Wednesday, posting to Instagram about the lack of diversity on the show, as well as in Hollywood in general.
Lack of diversity: Aisha Dee penned a lengthy heartfelt letter Wednesday, posting to Instagram about the lack of diversity on her show The Bold Type, as well as in Hollywood in general (pictured in March, 2019)
The 26-year-old prefaced that she didn’t want to come across ‘ungrateful, negative, or difficult’ in bringing up her concerns.
She wrote: ‘But I’m ready to take a cue from my girl Kat. What would Kat do? She would take a stand and advocate for herself and all other marginalized voices to influence change.
‘I am ready to push harder and speak louder for what matters to me: The diversity we see in front of the camera needs to be reflected in the diversity of the creative team behind the camera.’
Dee’s character Kat is a queer activist and former social media editor for a women’s magazine in the show, which is inspired by the life of former Cosmopolitan editor-in-chief Joanna Coles.
WWKD? She wrote: ‘But I’m ready to take a cue from my girl Kat. What would Kat do? She would take a stand and advocate for herself and all other marginalized voices to influence change’
Social butterfly: Dee’s character Kat is a queer activist and former social media editor for a women’s magazine in the show, which is inspired by the life of former Cosmopolitan editor-in-chief Joanna Coles
She went on to detail the show’s lack of representation behind-the-scenes: ‘It took two seasons to get a single BIPOC in the writer’s room for The Bold Type. And even then, the responsibility to speak for the entire Black experience cannot and should not fall on one person.
‘We got to tell a story about a queer Black woman and a lesbian Muslim woman falling in love, but there have never been any queer Black or Muslim writers in the room. In four seasons (48 episodes) we’ve had one Black woman direct two episodes.
‘It took three seasons to get someone in the hair department who knew how to work with textured hair. This was impactful on so many levels, and I’m grateful for the women who showed me how to embrace and love my hair in a way I never had before. I want to make sure that no one else ever has to walk onto a set and feel as though their hair is a burden. It is not.’
Dee also explained how the lack of diversity behind-the-scenes has impacted the diverse stories on the show.
She continued: ‘The level of care, nuance, and development that has gone into the stories centering white hetero characters is inconsistent with the stories centering queer characters and POC. I do not believe this is intentional.
Minimal representation: She went on to detail the show’s lack of representation behind-the-scenes: ‘It took two seasons to get a single BIPOC in the writer’s room for The Bold Type…In four seasons (48 episodes) we’ve had one Black woman direct two episodes’ (pictured in March, 2019)
Queer voices: Dee also explained how the lack of diversity behind-the-scenes has impacted the diverse stories on the show: ‘The level of care, nuance, and development that has gone into the stories centering white hetero characters is inconsistent with the stories centering queer characters and POC’
Bad romance: The actress’s statement appears to have been sparked by a recent storyline, in which Kat has begun a relationship with Ava Rose, a conservative white woman, with whom she previously feuded
‘We cannot bring specificity and honesty to experiences we have not lived. And when there is a lack of representation, the way marginalized characters are treated is even more important because they have the potential to empower or perpetuate damaging stereotypes that have a lasting and real effect on real people.’
The actress’s statement appears to have been sparked by a recent storyline, in which Kat has begun a relationship with Ava Rose, a conservative white woman, with whom she previously feuded.
Dee wrote: ‘The decision to have Kat enter into a relationship with a privileged conservative woman felt confusing and out of character. Despite my personal feelings about the choice, I tried my best to tell the story with honesty, even though the Kat I know and love would never make these choices.
‘It was heartbreaking to watch Kat’s story turn into a redemption story for someone else, someone who is complicit in the oppression of so many. Someone who’s politics are actively harmful to her communities.
‘I’m critical because I care, because I’ve seen firsthand the incredible impact of this show, and I believe in its potential to be better. The Bold Type has done so much good, but it struggles to understand the intersections many of its characters live in.’
Be better: She continued: ‘I’m critical because I care, because I’ve seen firsthand the incredible impact of this show, and I believe in its potential to be better’