How Playing Cheryl Blossom on Riverdale Allowed Madelaine Petsch Inside The Mind Of Her Bullies

From the outdoor looking in, Riverdale's Madelaine Petsch has it all. As well as her silky red locks and gleaming smile, Petsch gets to play one of the hit show's sassiest characters. And yet fans of the series would likely agree that their suggestion of Cheryl has changed a few times over the course of the initial three seasons, her character has evolved into a beloved fan preference. Unfortunately, it wasn't routinely that way, and in a new interview with Seventeen, the 25-year-old actor opened up about the bullying she faced right after Season 1.


any time I was bullied online right following the 2017 Teen Choice Awards following the first season of Riverdale, I was very upset,” she instructed them mag for its brand new digital offer. "I thought, 'Why do people hate me? I never get it. I'm just playing a character.'" Playing characters, soon considering that, was what Petsch dreamed of since she was a little bit kid. "I'm one of the few people that, by the time I was six years old, I knew exactly what I wanted to do," she mentioned. "My parents were very cooperative. And I really loved being on stage and bringing different characters to life."


Petsch didn't only encounter bullying right following the opening season aired, though. Actually, she's been bullied much of her life for reasons behind her control, including her background, her diet, and even her astonishing red hair. "I grew up in a tiny town," she mentioned. "And a lot of people made fun of me for having red hair, my parents are South African, I wasn't raised religious, I’m plant-based. I had everything up against me, like all of the things that made me unique were the things that people would chip away at."


In hindsight, Petsch realizes that the things she was once bullied for are actually the things she should be celebrating about herself. "I think Cheryl has helped me really love my red hair," she mentioned. "Finally, my hair and I have a wonderful relationship. And whenever fans tell me they're being bullied, I remind them that the things they're being bullied so far are the things that make them unique. Once you get older, those things are going to create you stand out."


But playing Cheryl Blossom did more for Petsch than simply help her love her hair. The role also gave her a window into the minds of these who've bullied her in the past, issuing an explanation as to why they were so cruel. "I've learned the mindset of the people who bullied me very well because Cheryl's been a bully on the show," she mentioned. "I've learned that the people who've made the most enjoyable of me as a kid probably had their own shit that they were going through. Thus and they were taking it out on other people. And that breaks my heart."


Going forward, Petsch just wants people to get to know who she really is — behind the hair and her often controversial character on the show. "I want people to get to know Madelaine," she mentioned. "I want them to know that I'm weird and funny and I love people. If they still have bad assumptions, then that's on them."


Check out the full Seventeen interview for more on Petsch's relationship with the Riverdale cast, why Choni's so key to her, and the hardest thing about losing her late co-star Luke Perry.