‘Scream Queens’ Creator Ryan Murphy Defends Show Against Racist Allegations

If there’s one thing true about Ryan’s Murphy’s career in television, its that he is not afraid of stirring up controversy. While the American Horror Story creator gears up for his upcoming series, American Crime Story, Murphy recently took the time to address the racist allegations surrounding his latest offering, Scream Queens.

According to Digital Spy, Scream Queens suffered a round of allegations back when the series first launched. In particular, some people did not approve of the racist dialogue included in the series, especially with the main character, Chanel (Emma Roberts).

As fans are well aware, the series centers on a group of sorority girls, many of whom don’t have the best of manners and often take things to the extreme. This includes insulting each other in a variety of different ways and often crossing the line of what many consider to be politically correct.

During an interview at the TCA Press Tour, Murphy admitted that the racial accusations against Scream Queens were “valid and interesting,” but noted that the criticism should be centered on the characters and not the series.

“That story was about a group of young people in the sorority-fraternity system, and a lot of that was based on actual things that Ian, Brad and I were reading about, about what this group of privileged, largely white kids were doing,” Murphy shared.

Murphy added that Scream Queens never meant to glorify its characters or their actions in any way. Instead, the series was aiming to show how these young women were damaged and that the world they lived in is a reflection of their broken lives.

Indeed, the main character in the series did end up in a psychiatric asylum by the end of the season. This goes to show that Murphy never intended for these characters to be heroes or role models in any way.

In addition to Murphy’s comments, other cast members of the show have also spoken up about the racial allegations. Notably, Keke Palmer, who plays the role of Zayday, recently shared her views on the matter in an interview with Extra.

For starters, Palmer noted that being an actor means playing roles that don’t necessarily align with personal beliefs and that not every character is “going to be cool and awesome.”

Furthermore, Palmer explained how the series is satire and not meant to be taken seriously. “Everything gets poked fun at some point,” she added.

Palmer went into even more details during an interview with BuzzFeed News. In particular, the actress discussed her part in Scream Queens and why she was not offended by any of the racial dialogue that was often pointed towards her character.

“Being the only African-American female that’s part of the sorority [Kappa Kappa Tau], I think as an actor, it’s up to me to be honest about what I am comfortable with and what I’m not comfortable with,” she stated. “I get to work with people every day that respect my opinion just as much as they respect everybody else’s. That plays a big part in why I was not offended by any of that.”

While fans may or may not agree with Murphy and Palmer’s take on the racial allegations, Fashion & Style is reporting that Scream Queens has officially been renewed for a second season. With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if Murphy will continue to include these types of controversial topics in the series moving forward.

Until then, fans can watch Murphy’s upcoming series, American Crime Story: The People v. OJ Simpson, when it airs February 2 on FX.

Tell us! Do you think that Scream Queens was racist in any way? Let us know in the comments and check out Keke Palmer talks about playing Zayday in the video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL2ZKhitkyQ

[Image via Fox]