Posted in: CW, Preview, Trailer, TV | Tagged: arrowverse, preview, season 9, the cw, The Flash, trailer

The Flash: Candice Patton on Backlash to Her Casting, Enacting Change

The Flash star Candice Patton discussed what it was like dealing with the backlash to her casting as Iris from racist trolls and more.

With both the Arrowverse and The CW's Grant Gustin, Candice Patton & Danielle Panabaker-starring The Flash both taking their final bows (for now?) on Wednesday night, the cast & creative team have been opening up about what it was like filming the long-running series and how they feel knowing that the series is on its final run. This time around, Patton returns to discuss the difficulties that came from the backlash she received from racist & toxic trolls who took issue with Patton portraying a character who was originally white in the comics. Looking to leave the series following Season 2, Patton would stay on for the series' full run – and in the process, the actress was able to bring about some meaningful change that will benefit actors of color for generations to come.

"It's never been easy, and I think it's still hard. It's getting easier, we're talking about it a lot more. But I had to learn a lot through trial and error, and I'm really proud of myself, of what I was able to accomplish, and how I was able to advocate for myself while I was there," Patton shared during an interview with EW. "I learned so much, and I'm really, really grateful for that. And I'm really grateful with the network and the studio— I feel like we grew together. Black Lives Matter happened in the middle of our show, and companies were learning and reevaluating in the moment, and I was really grateful to be working with a network and a studio that was open to hearing my thoughts and changing some things, and trying to make it better for the future."

But speaking up wasn't easy for Patton at first, with the actress concerned about being labeled as "problematic" as she worked to bring meaningful change behind the scenes. "The scariest thing is speaking up, and I had a hard time talking about it for such a long time because you're so afraid of being seen as problematic. That's a word that no actor wants to have follow them around." Patton explained. "But I think we're learning that speaking up and speaking out is the only way for change. And it's not about blaming people or canceling people, it's about just really being able to have a conversation so that the industry changes for the better. And I hope that whatever struggles I may have had, doing that has made it even the smallest amount easier for the next crop of actors coming up who feel like they need to be heard and seen and accommodated for."

And while there's still much more work to be done in the areas of diversity and representation, Patton has seen some serious change over the past decade. "It's really amazing what has shifted and changed in less than a decade. I think we have so much farther to go, don't get me wrong, but I'm really optimistic about the future, just knowing that there are groups of actors coming into these situations who won't have to fight as hard to talk about getting a hair and makeup person that knows how to do ethnic minority hair," Patton explained. "Not even having to have that fight or that conversation means that we've made significant improvement, and I think that's such a huge, huge thing. Little things like that that make me happy about the future of the industry."

The Flash Season 9 Episode 13 "A New World, Part Four": THE FINAL RUN – The Flash (Grant Gustin), the fastest man alive, is tasked with his greatest challenge yet, to save the timeline and save existence. Friends old and new gather for an epic battle to save Central City… one last time. The episode was written by Eric Wallace & Sam Chalsen and directed by Vanessa Parise.

Joining the cast for the show's final run are Javicia Leslie (Ryan Wilder/Batwoman), Nicole Maines (Nia Nal/Dreamer), Keiynan Lonsdale (Wally West/Kid Flash), David Ramsey (John Diggle/Spartan), Sendhil Ramamurthy (Ramsey Rosso/Bloodwork), Stephen Amell (Oliver Queen/Green Arrow), Rick Cosnett (CCPD Det. Eddie Thawne), Matt Letscher (Eobard Thawne(s)/Reverse-Flash), Jessica Parker Kennedy (Nora West-Allen/XS), John Wesley Shipp (Jay Garrick/The Flash), and Teddy Sears (Hunter Zolomon/Zoom).

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