Riverdale's Madelaine Petsch Shares Luke Perry's Advice About Dealing With Haters

Madelaine Petsch, who plays Cheryl Blossom on Riverdale, told Cosmopolitan that her late co-star Luke Perry advised her to take a step back from social media after comments from haters.

By Kaitlin Reilly Feb 11, 2021 6:04 PMTags
Watch: "BH90210" Stars Are Still Dealing With Loss of Luke Perry

Riverdale star Madelaine Petsch credits the late Luke Perry with helping her cope with the early days of fame. 

In a new interview with Cosmopolitan, Madelaine explained how during the early days of Riverdale—back when her character, Cheryl Blossom, had yet to strip away her outer mean girl shell to reveal the more vulnerable teen underneath—she was receiving a lot of hate online from people who couldn't separate the real person from the one Madelaine portrayed on screen. The actress told the magazine that she turned her co-star, the Beverly Hills 90210 alum Luke, for advice. 

"He was like, ‘You're not a character we're supposed to like, and that means you're selling it so well that people think that must be who you are,'" she told Cosmo, adding that he also recommended she get off Twitter to avoid the negative comments.

Luke passed away in 2019 at the age of 52 following complications from a stroke. In the wake of his death, many Riverdale cast members came forward to share how the former teen idol helped them navigate newfound fame.

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Meet the New Riverdale

KJ Apa, who portrays Luke's onscreen son Archie, told Mr. Porter's The Journal last year that "everything changed" for him after Luke died. 

"We had a really, really, really good relationship, me and Luke. He was just kind of a guy that kept us, especially me, grounded because he'd been through all of this stuff. I was so blessed to have him in my life to say, ‘Maybe don't do that,' or, ‘This is a good idea.' Just giving me advice," he shared. "I miss him. I just miss talking to him. I miss listening to him."

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Recently, footage of Luke appeared on season 5 of Riverdale in Archie's dream sequence. However, whether or not we see Luke on Riverdale in the future, it's clear that the actor made a lasting impression on the show's cast.