Actor Bradley Riches fired back at trolls who accused him of pretending to be autistic after he opened up to his Celebrity Big Brother housemates about the challenges of growing up with autism.
Riches, who played James McEwan in the LGBTQ+ Netflix teen drama Heartstopper, was a contestant on ITV's twenty-third series of Celebrity Big Brother until he was given the boot in a surprising backdoor eviction in March.
The openly gay 22-year-old is neurodivergent.
He conveyed that one of the reasons for wanting to be one of the 12 "lodgers" on the reality television competition was for improved artistic visibility and representation.
According to The Sun, a spokesperson said:
"Brad really wants to fly the flag for autistic, queer people on a huge mainstream show like Celebrity Big Brother."
"He was diagnosed with autism when he was nine and is passionate about being an advocate for his community."
The representative added:
"He's keen to show the world that being neurodiverse isn't something that holds you back, it's a superpower."
While Riches discussed his 2023 semi-autobiographical children's book A Different Kind of Superpower with fellow housemate and West End star Marisha Wallace, he opened up about his ongoing struggles since his autism diagnosis as a child.
He told Wallace:
“I wrote a book, a children’s book. It’s basically about a boy who’s growing up, and then he gets diagnosed with being autistic… it’s me.”
He also admitted that being a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother was "a lot" and that despite employing coping mechanisms and having "so much fun" on the show, he tended to be over-analytical and he felt like he was "not doing everything right."
Riches added:
"That's the main reason I wanted to come here. To push myself."
The conversation prompted ignorant social media users to post negative comments about Riches, claiming he was "not autistic," that he was "acting autistic," and claiming to "know autistic people they aren't like this."
Riches responded to the false accusations with a powerful response, schooling the uninformed about people on the spectrum.
"Ignorance is bliss," he wrote in the caption to a photo of him entering the Celebrity Big Brother house.
The first image in the slide was superimposed with screenshot comments from trolls accusing the actor of faking his diagnosis.
Riches said of his community on the spectrum:
"We have always been presented by stereotypes in the media telling us how autistic people are meant to look, behave and present."
"Just because I don’t fit into what you have seen before and fit into what you think 'being autistic' is, doesn’t mean I am not autistic."
"The autism spectrum… is A SPECTRUM."
To help fans visualize what being on the spectrum looks like, Riches mentioned his friend and Heartbreak High actor Chloé Hayden, who was also diagnosed with autism as a child.
"My good friend @chloeshayden says it’s a colour wheel, which I love!" he said and that "Every little part of a colour wheel is a different part of being autistic."
He continued:
"Each autistic person would have a different colour and square in the colour wheel. As we are all different, but we are still autistic."
"I’m not on the earth to meet you’re expectations of what autism is 'CHILLEDPANDA' ."
"But not meeting you’re false expectations doesn’t mean a false representation of autism."
He concluded the post with an encouragement to be better:
"Start listening to REAL autistic voices and learn."
The second photo on the Instagram post was the same image of him entering the Celebrity Big Brother house but with positive comments from autistic fans who felt validated by his representation.
An army of supporters praised Riches for using his voice and platform to spread awareness.
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Those who felt seen shared their thoughts and personal experiences.
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In April, Riches announced he was engaged to his partner, theater director Scott Johnston.
He wrote in an Instagram post:
"Erm…YES! 🤍"
"I never thought I’d find someone who’s gets me and loves me for me," said Riches, adding:
"I have always struggled connecting my emotions in relationships and then @scottjohnston1.8 came. I felt safe and accepted and most importantly loved."
Later this year, Riches will be featured in the BBC comedy horror series Wreck and appear at The Other Palace - Main Theatre in the coming-of-age pop-rock musical comedy Babies in London.
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