‘Riverdale’ Star Charles Melton Under Fire For Old Tweets That Fat-Shamed Women
Riverdale star Charles Melton — who plays Reggie Mantle on the hit CW show that’s also currently streaming on Netflix — has come under fire after a series of old tweets, where he fat-shamed women, have emerged.
According to the Daily Mail, the Riverdale star immediately locked his Twitter account after the old tweets were unearthed, and did nothing to address the accusations.
The outlet confirms that Melton wrote the tweets in 2012, before he became a professional actor, when he was about 20 or 21 years old.
Fans of the show will recall that Melton’s sole prior acting gig was as a model on Glee, in 2014, before he got cast in the life-changing role based on the Archie comic book characters.
Even though Melton locked his Twitter account, a few intrepid fans were able to get screenshots of the offending statements beforehand.
You can check out some of the worst offenders below.
Charles Melton fat shaming woman then putting his account private because of the backlash is petty af. pic.twitter.com/AgwLHf1TK1
— Lydia (@ellecoffin) June 19, 2018
Some fans immediately jumped to the defense of the Riverdale star, claiming that he made the statements more than 6 years ago, and therefore should be given a “free pass” for his awful statements.
Are people still blaming @_MELTON_ for tweets that he posted like 6/7 yrs ago? I mean, grow up you guys. I’m not saying that his attitude was the best bc it was not, but everyone commits mistakes and he’s not an exception. I’m sure he has regretted doin it. #charlesmelton
— WTF Richard (@Choni_Topassom) June 19, 2018
Others, however, took Charles Melton to task because six years ago, he was 21 years old, more than old enough to know the difference between right and wrong. What’s more, Melton has a bit of a reputation for treating his fans terribly, and this latest incident was only further proof that his bad reputation was well-earned.
"It's been six years. He's changed"
Lmao. If Charles Melton really changed, He would've apologized and deleted those tweets. He only deleted them. From the videos I've seen with his fans, He's a dick most of the time.— Ally (@evan118buckley) June 19, 2018
I’m so done with the cast of R*verdale, I won’t watch any episode of season 3 if Charles Melton is a series regular.
— ??? (@emi_sernoff) June 18, 2018
This isn’t the first time that a Riverdale star has come under fire. Just last week, KJ Apa — who plays Archie on the show — came under fire for not only posting a misogynist photo but for liking a fat-shaming comment, on Instagram.
kj apa posted a misogynistic picture and like a fat shaming conment pic.twitter.com/IdUTeHKDqd
— ? (@nightblccd) June 4, 2018
Apa’s comments and postings recently came to light after it was announced, by BuzzFeed, that he would replace Kian Lawley in a film called The Hate You Give.
According to the outlet, Lawley was fired from the production after a video of him making racist remarks surfaced online.
@kj_apa fat shaming people … really? and listing reasons beer is better than girls. its a shame i thought you were decent but you're just like all the other guys aka pigs
— Lydia (@basiclyds) January 14, 2018
It’s not clear if either star of the show faced any repercussions for his actions — however, what is clear is that both are currently in the cross-hairs of the Riverdale fandom, with many fans remarking that the actors are nothing if not “problematic,” even as the two main actresses on the show — Lili Reinhart and Camila Mendes — promote a message of body positivity and acceptance.
