Fans of Bridgerton are excited to see two dark-skinned South Asian women cast in its season 2. It seems like Bridgerton is breaking the ongoing issue like colorism and racism by giving roles to original artists coming from different backgrounds. Simone Ashley is playing the role of Kate Sharma, elder sister of Edwina Sharma, who will be the love interest of Anthony Bridgerton in Bridgerton season 2.

Simone Ashley on colorism

During an interview with with Glamour UK, Simone shared the time the first look of Bridgerton was out on social media. Her phone blew up with all congratulations messages. Some of these messages are from people inside the industry, from two actresses she looks up to: Mindy Kaling and Freida Pinto. She said, “I remember watching Freida in Slumdog Millionaire and Mindy in everything she’s done. She’s incredible. There’s no one like her. She’s so cool. I’d love to work with her. I think she’s an amazing writer, producer.”

Simone Ashley was excited to work with Charithra Chandran, aka Edwina Sharma. Since Charithra is trilingual, Ashley confessed to have learned more about her culture from her co-star.

Bridgerton is breaking the stereotypes and address issues like colorism and racism. Thus, the show was a perfect platform for an actor like Ashley who sees herself for her personality, not for the color of her skin. She said, “Representation matters, and yes, there is a minority that needs to be represented more, and I’m very aware of that… Everyone should be seen. I think we can all relate to each other in some way.”

Simone Ashley admits she used to feel typecast by the industry a few years ago. But, now it’s important she does both cultural-specific and non-culturally specific roles. She wants to be an actress with talent, not what she looks like.

Bridgerton season 2 will drop on Netflix on March 25th.