Netflix teen drama Riverdale has come under fire this week for showing a historically asexual character share a kiss.
Riverdale is the television adaption of a long-running comic series by Archie Comics. It was recently added to the Australian Netflix library.
The character of Jughead Jones came out as asexual in the comic series last year, making him the first character to openly identify as asexual in a mainstream comic.
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In the latest episode of the revamped series, and without spoiling it for those who are yet to see the show, Jughead kisses a female character.
The kiss, to original fans, carries the sting of outright betrayal as even the comic’s co-creator, Chip Zdarsky, told a New York Comic-Con panel in 2015, the character would continue being written as asexual, according to CBR.
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“People have asked me if there is going to be a romance if I’m writing Jughead, because I’m very romantic, and the answer is no, because there is enough of that in Archie,” he said.
“I think something like asexuality is underrepresented, and since we have a character who was asexual before people had the word for it, I’m continuing to write him that way.”
