Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell slammed ongoing backlash from fans directed at the show’s decision to gender-swap a character.
“There’s no place for racism, homophobia or any kind of bigotry in the Bridgerton universe,” Brownell told Vanity Fair on Tuesday, March 3, when asked about the continued negativity directed at actors Masali Baduza and Hannah Dodd. “This world is all about inclusivity and love, and I want only for Masali and Hannah and every person in this cast to receive love and positivity.”
Brownell specifically addressed criticism from those who read Julia Quinn‘s books, which inspired the show, before watching the Netflix adaptation.
“If people are frustrated with the adaptation, that’s fair, but keep it off Masali’s page, keep it off Hannah’s page, and keep it focused on the creative,” she continued. “Let’s not make it about the queerness of the show because it’s so important for people to get to feel like their love story is included.”
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She concluded: “It’s been really fun seeing the way fans have already started rallying around Masali and Hannah, and I can’t wait to see that love increase when we get to telling their story.”
Bridgerton has weathered strong reactions from viewers since it premiered in 2020. While fans have been upset about the order of the books changing on the show, there was larger backlash when season 3 of the hit Netflix series expanded on Francesca’s love story (Dodd) by having her meet her husband, John (Victor Alli).
Francesca and John’s bliss was short-lived when he ultimately died one season later. The detail that received negative responses, however, had to do with John’s cousin Michaela (Baduza). The book about Francesca’s romance — titled When He Was Wicked — actually followed her relationship with John’s cousin Michael, which upset certain readers.
“The reveal of Michaela vs. Michael — from the books — is something that I’ve been pitching from season 1 of the show,” Brownell revealed to Teen Vogue in June 2024. “My approach to telling a queer story on Bridgerton has been to look to the books for thematic cues. I didn’t want to just insert a queer character for queer character’s sake.”
Brownell revealed that Quinn signed off on the change.
“The fact of the matter is, the fan base is not a monolith, and you’re never going to please every single side of the fan base,” she continued at the time. “In, for example, deciding to tell a queer story with Francesca, I spoke with Julia Quinn, I got her blessing.”
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Brownell added: “We talked about the fact that with almost any single book, there would be a side of the fandom that would be disheartened to see their favorite characters changed. I don’t think that there is any book that wouldn’t happen with, so for me, again, it came back to story, and it came back to character.”
Quinn, for her part, issued her own statement after certain book fans got frustrated with how her novel would be adapted.
“I’m confident now that when Francesca has her Bridgerton season, it will be the most emotional and heart-wrenching story of the show, just like When He Was Wicked has always been the true tear-jerker of the Bridgerton book series,” she wrote via Instagram in June. “Honestly, it may pack even more of a punch, since John is getting a lot more time on the screen than he ever did on the page, and I think it’s fair to say we’ve all fallen a little bit in love with him.”
Bridgerton is currently streaming on Netflix.
