Let me put it in perspective with his eyes closed shaking the gun so his grip isn’t firm Rick shoots Jimmy in the back because the writers write him to run even though he was in arms reach while Ricks eyes were closed (black character) then next scene Sean (not black) wrestles the gun out of Ricks hands that’s blatant racism 😂😂 realistically Jimmy coulda slapped the gun out ricks hand or took the bag while he was first pulling the gun out as a child I ain’t notice how obviously racist the producers were 😭😭
"How unique it is to be... the kind of person that speaks out about black issues before it's popularized or cool to do so. And the difference in response" -Andrea Lewis
How dare any of those coward fans racially slur you for being vulnerable enough to speak on your experience. It takes time for people to accept startling truths. Ignorance is bliss for ignorant people. They deny, get angry, then accept it....after a decade! Good for you for standing in your power!
i will never get over the way the show treated hazel. she’s the only character i’ve ever seen myself reflected in (somali canadian girl). the show did her dirty. i will always admire you for the amazing content you create. thank you
I have been speaking about the lack of diversity on the show since 2009 and I have been told that I was crazy and I read that post not too long ago and saw those comments from fans disputing your own experience. I honestly didn't even realize how much of an impact you made in my life being on the show until the end of 2018, and I realized that your episode, Don't Believe the Hype, was my favorite episode because I saw someone who looked like me, with my same skintone actually being highlighted and it's important for shows like this that are marketed toward the younger generation, for the audience to see someone who looks like them, who speaks like them, who moves like them, now more than ever. Thank you so much for being you and pushing back when they told you no and they tried to shut you up. Be blessed, sis. You're AMAZING. Much love.
Hazel is literally the reason I started acting and got into an acting school her character inspired me if degrassi ever comes back I’m definitely auditioning
It’s interesting I found this video. I’ve watching old episodes of Degrassi. And during which, I noticed Hazel did not get as much attention as you deserve. They kept you as a side character. Jimmy’s gf, Paige’s friend. The episode of Culture Day where Hazel explained where see came from was one of the best episodes. That’s where the producers dropped the ball, by not making more episodes highlighting Hazel more.
I'm so glad you said this. I'm a stan, but I be in these Degrassi facebook groups talking about the blog post you wrote YEARS ago. I'm so tired of people suddenly wanting to talk about black issues as if they are new, or if it wasnt a problem because it was ' a product of its time.' Microaggressions are Microaggressions!
just wanna stay that i loved your post about degrassi before. i love you and i always wished they showed more of your character. you are amazing and strong! 💗
Not only before it was popular but at a time when it was unpopular it’s like people would fight you . the same people who would be looking at you like you were crazy are all of a sudden “woke “ and getting pats on the back on social media is crazy
Someone made a good point that Degrassi made an attempt to be a racially-conscious show while also being colorblind in their writing. They ignored the matter of race until it’s time for a “very special episode” about racism, ironically the only storyline the Hazel character really had and it didn’t even end in a satisfying way either. It’s confusing how they had such diverse characters but the minority characters were never taken serious and barely had plot lines. The Hazel character should’ve gotten more spotlight and developed her more instead of her just being a hang on next to Paige or Terry. They tended to gravitate towards stereotypes and make minor characters out of non white cast members. Other characters like Chris Sharpe, Kendra Mason, Chantay (her last name being black was crazy to me).
It was brave to speak up about your experience knowing that there would be people, even so called Degrassi fans that would denigrate you and gaslight you because you shined a very public light on the subtle manifestations or expressions of racial discrimination in the industry......I think I remember the post to which you are referring snd I think I remember Jahmil French (Rest in Peace) the actor that played Dave on Degrassi confirming your experiences while talking about some of his own.....He also called the show racist........What was telling about that was the fact that Jahmil wasn't even on the show at the same time your character was present yet he expressed the same grievances..... I think if memory serves, that the producer/writer revealed to you how he had to fight tooth and nail to get you the culture storyline that was eventually featured in season 2 on the show....the episode that reveals that you are Muslim and of Somali decent.....I think the writer told you that he had to keep other writers/producers of the show from relying on racially stereotypical and overwhelmingly negative storylines for your character.....I'm paraphrasing and relying on old memories but I think that was the gist of it........ Personally, as a black woman with Cerebral Palsy, I would have loved to have seen proper representation in the form of an inter-abled relationship or a relationship where one person has a physical challenge and the other does not.....I thought they were going to explore those storylines with your character and Jimmy after Jimmy got shot, yet they never did......they tried to do it with Jimmy and Ashley but I think the effort fell flat.........they just ended up finding some random girl that Jimmy met in physical therapy to put him with.....he quickly falls in love with her and they get engaged and married.....All of this happens in a span of like 4-6 episodes so I felt like the work was shoddy and rushed as well...........What was the message there? That a physically handicapped person can only be in a relationship with another handicapped person??? The writers took the easy, lazy way out in my opinion.......
What a damn great comment, I watched it all until Season 7 finale and I remember how they wasted Jimmy and Hazel's relationship and literally stuck them together without any relationship plots at all, just the stupid break-up storyline and even randomly got Jimmy a girlfriend that wasn't even a recurring character in a few episodes, although she was good for the few episodes she featured in
I was introduced to you by UA-cam, Jungle Wild channel. It was you and her name escapes me at the moment. I’m glad I was introduced to you and your work this way because I have no preconceived expectation but the one you present to us, here on THIS channel. To me at least you’ve always come across as though you were comfortable in your skin because you would talk about things that other people would try to hide from the public. 2020 really is the best of times and the worst of times because so many people have lost so much but also gained. Keep being you and staying true to yourself. Looking forward to more of your creations.
I’m sorry people said such crazy things. I’m always dumbfounded that people have the audacity to say or write such disgusting things to people just because they have the anonymity of social media to hide behind. Keep speaking your truth! People need to hear it. Sometimes there can be horrible resistance to reality. Nobody needs to beg for crumbs or be gaslit into lying about things being perfect when they aren’t. And on the being put in a box, I think that’s something we can all relate to but maybe most of us not on such a public level. It’s important to say these things out loud even if the message isn’t ready to be received at the time.
Would see you on TV growing up and I want your opinion as a black cast member, let me get this straight Rick shoots Jimmy in the back with his eyes closed and shaking the gun yet immediately after in the next scene Sean wrestles the gun out of Ricks hand what sense does that make both characters of Sean and Jimmy were athletic Rick was in arms reach of Jimmy with his eyes closed yet the writers wrote him to run and Sean to be a superhero 😂😂 growing up I watched the show with my mom every week on teennick rewatching now going down memory lane just reminiscing on my childhood and the racism in the show is pretty obvious that’s the biggest example with Rick shooting Jimmy yet Sean stopping Rick now as a grown black man that bothers me if the writers were gonna shoot someone why did it have to be the black man and why in the next scene the guys that’s not black becomes this superhero that’s wrestling firearms out peoples hands smh… would be dope if you a degrassi alum could share your thoughts on this a black women
Be honest though, doesn't it feel great to have people stand up for you even if they are doing it over a decade after you tried to do it for yourself??? That has to feel good and vindicating in a sense, even if you have moved passed the emotional trauma of the experience.......
Doesn't change the way they first responded to it when it happened. Like all of a sudden they want to ask for forgiveness yet still make the same mistakes again.
just like Ashleigh Murray and the actress whom plays toni topaz on riverdale were paid less than their white counterparts were you under paid on degrassi ?
Hi Andrea im rewatching degrassi and i was wondering are u actually Somalian? and on the culture episode were those your home photos of you with the hijab on?
![Gabbie Hanna's Poetry is BAD [part 1]](/img/n.gif)
I’ve said this during the airing of Degrassi Next Generation, and I’ll keep saying it now, *clears throat* 🗣 HAZEL WAS ROBBED!!!!!!!
Hazel could have been a really interesting three demensional character! I really thought that Muslim storyline could go somewhere.
Hazel is one of my fave Degrassi characters! :D
Degrassi treated black characters horribly. It super cringey to watch,black girls (racially unambiguous) deserve more and better.
Exactly liberty was so ambiguous and hazel has obviously black so they treated her like trash i love hazel she’s my favorite character
Let me put it in perspective with his eyes closed shaking the gun so his grip isn’t firm Rick shoots Jimmy in the back because the writers write him to run even though he was in arms reach while Ricks eyes were closed (black character) then next scene Sean (not black) wrestles the gun out of Ricks hands that’s blatant racism 😂😂 realistically Jimmy coulda slapped the gun out ricks hand or took the bag while he was first pulling the gun out as a child I ain’t notice how obviously racist the producers were 😭😭
degrassi really did you/hazel dirty
"How unique it is to be... the kind of person that speaks out about black issues before it's popularized or cool to do so. And the difference in response" -Andrea Lewis
How dare any of those coward fans racially slur you for being vulnerable enough to speak on your experience. It takes time for people to accept startling truths. Ignorance is bliss for ignorant people. They deny, get angry, then accept it....after a decade! Good for you for standing in your power!
I love hazel she is perky and beautiful and sweet but I hate what epitome/defrassi did to Andrea
i will never get over the way the show treated hazel. she’s the only character i’ve ever seen myself reflected in (somali canadian girl). the show did her dirty. i will always admire you for the amazing content you create. thank you
I relate to hazel in so many way
I have been speaking about the lack of diversity on the show since 2009 and I have been told that I was crazy and I read that post not too long ago and saw those comments from fans disputing your own experience. I honestly didn't even realize how much of an impact you made in my life being on the show until the end of 2018, and I realized that your episode, Don't Believe the Hype, was my favorite episode because I saw someone who looked like me, with my same skintone actually being highlighted and it's important for shows like this that are marketed toward the younger generation, for the audience to see someone who looks like them, who speaks like them, who moves like them, now more than ever. Thank you so much for being you and pushing back when they told you no and they tried to shut you up. Be blessed, sis. You're AMAZING. Much love.
Hazel is literally the reason I started acting and got into an acting school her character inspired me if degrassi ever comes back I’m definitely auditioning
Hazel deserved better ! True Degrassi fans love Hazel and know she wasn’t given what she deserves 🙌🏽
Those colors, the hair, face.....gullllll you're serving!!!!
It’s interesting I found this video. I’ve watching old episodes of Degrassi. And during which, I noticed Hazel did not get as much attention as you deserve. They kept you as a side character. Jimmy’s gf, Paige’s friend. The episode of Culture Day where Hazel explained where see came from was one of the best episodes. That’s where the producers dropped the ball, by not making more episodes highlighting Hazel more.
I'm so glad you said this. I'm a stan, but I be in these Degrassi facebook groups talking about the blog post you wrote YEARS ago. I'm so tired of people suddenly wanting to talk about black issues as if they are new, or if it wasnt a problem because it was ' a product of its time.' Microaggressions are Microaggressions!
Not gonna lie I subscribed like 2 yeas ago cz I was like "oh shit that's Hazel".
just wanna stay that i loved your post about degrassi before. i love you and i always wished they showed more of your character. you are amazing and strong! 💗
Not only before it was popular but at a time when it was unpopular it’s like people would fight you . the same people who would be looking at you like you were crazy are all of a sudden “woke “ and getting pats on the back on social media is crazy
Thank you for gracing my screen once again ❤️
Someone made a good point that Degrassi made an attempt to be a racially-conscious show while also being colorblind in their writing. They ignored the matter of race until it’s time for a “very special episode” about racism, ironically the only storyline the Hazel character really had and it didn’t even end in a satisfying way either. It’s confusing how they had such diverse characters but the minority characters were never taken serious and barely had plot lines. The Hazel character should’ve gotten more spotlight and developed her more instead of her just being a hang on next to Paige or Terry. They tended to gravitate towards stereotypes and make minor characters out of non white cast members. Other characters like Chris Sharpe, Kendra Mason, Chantay (her last name being black was crazy to me).
I want to see the post she's talking about lol. I liked Hazel and was always excited to see her on screen on Degrassi.
It was brave to speak up about your experience knowing that there would be people, even so called Degrassi fans that would denigrate you and gaslight you because you shined a very public light on the subtle manifestations or expressions of racial discrimination in the industry......I think I remember the post to which you are referring snd I think I remember Jahmil French (Rest in Peace) the actor that played Dave on Degrassi confirming your experiences while talking about some of his own.....He also called the show racist........What was telling about that was the fact that Jahmil wasn't even on the show at the same time your character was present yet he expressed the same grievances.....
I think if memory serves, that the producer/writer revealed to you how he had to fight tooth and nail to get you the culture storyline that was eventually featured in season 2 on the show....the episode that reveals that you are Muslim and of Somali decent.....I think the writer told you that he had to keep other writers/producers of the show from relying on racially stereotypical and overwhelmingly negative storylines for your character.....I'm paraphrasing and relying on old memories but I think that was the gist of it........
Personally, as a black woman with Cerebral Palsy, I would have loved to have seen proper representation in the form of an inter-abled relationship or a relationship where one person has a physical challenge and the other does not.....I thought they were going to explore those storylines with your character and Jimmy after Jimmy got shot, yet they never did......they tried to do it with Jimmy and Ashley but I think the effort fell flat.........they just ended up finding some random girl that Jimmy met in physical therapy to put him with.....he quickly falls in love with her and they get engaged and married.....All of this happens in a span of like 4-6 episodes so I felt like the work was shoddy and rushed as well...........What was the message there? That a physically handicapped person can only be in a relationship with another handicapped person??? The writers took the easy, lazy way out in my opinion.......
What a damn great comment, I watched it all until Season 7 finale and I remember how they wasted Jimmy and Hazel's relationship and literally stuck them together without any relationship plots at all, just the stupid break-up storyline and even randomly got Jimmy a girlfriend that wasn't even a recurring character in a few episodes, although she was good for the few episodes she featured in
I was introduced to you by UA-cam, Jungle Wild channel. It was you and her name escapes me at the moment. I’m glad I was introduced to you and your work this way because I have no preconceived expectation but the one you present to us, here on THIS channel.
To me at least you’ve always come across as though you were comfortable in your skin because you would talk about things that other people would try to hide from the public. 2020 really is the best of times and the worst of times because so many people have lost so much but also gained. Keep being you and staying true to yourself. Looking forward to more of your creations.
Yes I agree with you because I’ve felt the same growing as a child as I do now as an adult this same topic
actress Ashleigh Murray ( Josie, Riverdale, was treated this same way.... as was the rest of the blacks in riverdale
Yesssss Andrea!!! 🙌🏼🙌🏼🤗😍
I’m sorry people said such crazy things. I’m always dumbfounded that people have the audacity to say or write such disgusting things to people just because they have the anonymity of social media to hide behind. Keep speaking your truth! People need to hear it. Sometimes there can be horrible resistance to reality. Nobody needs to beg for crumbs or be gaslit into lying about things being perfect when they aren’t.
And on the being put in a box, I think that’s something we can all relate to but maybe most of us not on such a public level. It’s important to say these things out loud even if the message isn’t ready to be received at the time.
Why can I not watch any of them now with out separating the fact that it was a show and not their real childhood or high school experience 😂
You truly are thriving!! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on all of this
never watched the show. I discovered you post all that.
Beautifully said 💯
Missed your face!!!! Xoxo
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Would see you on TV growing up and I want your opinion as a black cast member, let me get this straight Rick shoots Jimmy in the back with his eyes closed and shaking the gun yet immediately after in the next scene Sean wrestles the gun out of Ricks hand what sense does that make both characters of Sean and Jimmy were athletic Rick was in arms reach of Jimmy with his eyes closed yet the writers wrote him to run and Sean to be a superhero 😂😂 growing up I watched the show with my mom every week on teennick rewatching now going down memory lane just reminiscing on my childhood and the racism in the show is pretty obvious that’s the biggest example with Rick shooting Jimmy yet Sean stopping Rick now as a grown black man that bothers me if the writers were gonna shoot someone why did it have to be the black man and why in the next scene the guys that’s not black becomes this superhero that’s wrestling firearms out peoples hands smh… would be dope if you a degrassi alum could share your thoughts on this a black women
Be honest though, doesn't it feel great to have people stand up for you even if they are doing it over a decade after you tried to do it for yourself??? That has to feel good and vindicating in a sense, even if you have moved passed the emotional trauma of the experience.......
Doesn't change the way they first responded to it when it happened. Like all of a sudden they want to ask for forgiveness yet still make the same mistakes again.
@@codesm96 you have a point
just like Ashleigh Murray and the actress whom plays toni topaz on riverdale were paid less than their white counterparts were you under paid on degrassi ?
She featured less so she would have been sadly
Hi Andrea im rewatching degrassi and i was wondering are u actually Somalian? and on the culture episode were those your home photos of you with the hijab on?
She’s not Somali irl she’s from the Caribbean
In my opinion I think Andrea Lewis was robbed on the show.