In case you haven’t been on Twitter lately – there has been a theme surrounding the release of 13 Reasons Why season 3. Everybody hates the inclusion of the new girl: Ani Achola (played by actress Grace Saif).
Ani is this season’s narrator, acting also as Clay Jensen’s (Dylan Minnette’s) partner in crime in trying to figure out who the hell killed Bryce Walker (Justin Prentice).
WATCH: Anne Winters (Chloe Rice) from ’13 Reasons Why’ defends Ani’s character on the show
However, viewers haven’t taken kindly to her, calling her input confusing, adding zero depth to the story.
In fact, they find her entire vibe untrustworthy, as she the role of Bryce’s ‘redeemer’.
Ani lives in Bryce’s home, as her mother is his grandfather’s carer.
While living there, Ani and Bryce form a connection after his friends and family abandon him after his trial.
Ani makes herself ‘Team Bryce’, quite quickly, which doesn’t sit well with fans because A) he’s a rapist and B) we have no backstory of her from previous seasons.
Fans made it pretty well known on social media that they very much dislike her, which is not okay because Grace is an actress, not Ani Achola.
Shortly after the release of season three, Grace made her Twitter account private and deleted all of her photos off Instagram.
Timothy Granaderos Jr., who plays Monty de la Cruz, spoke out on social media to remind fans to be nicer, which is basically the premise of their show.
“Whether or not you support, like, or love, a character in our fictional tv show — please remember that there is a talented and beautiful actor/actress bringing those scripted words to life,” he wrote on Instagram. “One of the underlining themes in our show is to take care of each other. I’ve seen some pretty nasty things being said online, concerning the introduction of a new character. Y’all are passionate & we love you for that, but PLEASE PLEASE try to be kind and respect the work of the talented actress/actor behind the character.”
As seen in the above video, actress Anne Winters who plays Chloe Rice (Bryce’s ex-girlfriend), spoke to PEOPLE about the backlash Grace has received, claiming it to be “unwarranted.”
“Ani is amazing, Grace who plays Ani is like the sweetest girl ever. I really loved her character this season.”
Thankfully, others have shown support for Grace online as well.
It’s a great reminder that a character is just that. Actors and actresses are real people who are not the people they portray on television.
Justin Prentice dealt with a similar issue when the first two seasons of 13 Reasons Why were released.
“In person, people have been nice to me. They want to take pictures with me, want to take autographs. But on social media, the hatred pours in! I actually like it. When people say hateful things about Bryce, it means I’ve done my job,” Justin told Hindustan Times.
Thankfully, Justin is nothing like Bryce.
“Bryce assumes he can take whatever he wants, he doesn’t think of consent. He thinks women are inferior and doesn’t respect them. I’m nothing like that in real life. Respecting women is something I’ve imbibed since childhood,” he said.
WATCH: ’13 Reasons Why’ season 3 trailer: who killed Bryce Walker?
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