Celeb News: Hazel from Degrassi exposes racist undertones in the show

NICHOLE

Quote:

This post may or may not get me in trouble but, either way “the trouble” will ultimately be a big release and the deflating of the elephant in the room.

I was very blessed to grow up on television. My longest gig was on the the show Degrassi: TNG where I had the chance to play the character “Hazel” for 6 seasons. I had an amazing experience on Degrassi, I was a teenager on top of the world! I traveled, I met fantastic people and I started to develop a fan base, there wasn’t much more I could ask for….

Actually I lied there was a few more things I could ask for and that was mainly to get a CHANCE. In my 6 year run of being on the show I only had ONE major story line around my character and all the other episodes I was the token dose of color or a glorified extra. This experience was incredibly frustrating for me. I was on the show when I was just starting to recognize my own potential and let my imagination run free and so the last thing I wanted was to be stifled creatively on a major platform. Whenever I would talk to the executives about ideas I had or expanding my character in any way, it would always get shut down or pushed to the side. I worked on an album with Universal Canada while doing the show, to get out some of my creative frustration out and suggested to some of the people at Degrassi to let me sing and instead they made my character a “bad singer” lol. It’s easy for me to laugh at the ridiculousness of that now but at the time it wasn’t funny at all! I used to think I was crazy while being on the show because as much as I would be included in episodes and advertising campaigns it always felt like there was another force trying to shut me out. I ignored it though, tried my best to continue to plead my case for why I believed my character should be developed a bit more and continued to do my best on the show and be grateful for the opportunity. So many people had pointed out to me that as black girl in Canada it was great just to see my face on the screen and so I continued on.

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This makes me sad, but it doesn't surprise me

and this is a year old but it's just now making the rounds on Tumblr and no one posted it before.

Mezter

I've read this before. They did her so wrong

I Am Music

A shame.

AustinMahone

Deuces

I wonder why they only payed her dust and not Liberty.

Flare

Omg I read this last year and I was shocked initially but not surprised looking back.

Heck even now, Degrassi gives all the white characters important and great developed roles and the black characters get written off quick, deal drugs, steal or just play the side kick.

Only black characters left now and then were/are half-black (giving Drake teas).

Kings.

I remember this, they always pay the black characters dust.

Gavin.

Let me google who Hazel is

RudeBoyy

Awww poor girl. She better expose.

NICHOLE

Degrassi is trash now with a bunch of ugly actors and rehashed storylines

Hooligan

Quote:

Originally posted by Deuces

I wonder why they only payed her dust and not Liberty.

As she said though, they played into normal "black" stereotypes as well i.e. Liberty getting pregnant. The creators and producers aren't **** for their racism but I'll never have a bad taste in my mouth about Degrassi: TNG; show's iconic...erm, the show was iconic.

NICHOLE

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Originally posted by Gavin.

Let me google who Hazel ks

You must be young

SHICD

Can u highlight some key lines from that essay, plz? Tks

Flare

Quote:

Originally posted by NICHOLE

Degrassi is trash now with a bunch of ugly actors and rehashed storylines

The ratings are reflecting that too.

Also it's romance heavy, like WAY too heavy. In some of the best seasons (and episodes) of Degrassi, the relationships weren't the focus. They took a cute backseat to the real teenager issues, plots and devlopment.

Kings.

WAIT

It all makes sense now, Drake being shot and ending up in a wheelchair and not being able to play basketball again and Liberty being a single teen mom

The bias is oh so real

NICHOLE

Quote:

Originally posted by Deuces

I wonder why they only payed her dust and not Liberty.

bc Liberty is lighter skinner and looks mixed. Liberty still got stereotypical storylines the majority of the time also

Deuces

Quote:

Originally posted by Hooligan

As she said though, they played into normal "black" stereotypes as well i.e. Liberty getting pregnant. The creators and producers aren't **** for their racism but I'll never have a bad taste in my mouth about Degrassi: TNG; show's iconic...erm, the show was iconic.

I saw that but I was wondering as to why they gave Liberty story lines (whether they were stereotypical or not) and paid Hazel dust. The writers are **** for their treatment of black folk. They can go to hell just like that show already is.

Edit: Nichole clocked it. I forgot Liberty was on that Aubrey Graham mixed ****.

Reinvention

That's really sad. A bit like Gilmore Girls in a way which was amazing in basically every way other than their treatment of black characters, and there was really only one, Michel, who's character never really had a storyline. I mean that show had a huge array of characters who didn't really get much, but Michel was one of the least prominent and was used to fill in for the lack of homosexual / black representation in one go.

Penny.

Mezter

Quote:

Originally posted by Flare

The ratings are reflecting that too.

Also it's romance heavy, like WAY too heavy. In some of the best seasons (and episodes) of Degrassi, the relationships weren't the focus. They took a cute backseat to the real teenager issues, plots and devlopment.

And someone dies every season now