13 Reason Why's Christian Navarro defends show against online hate over that "one scene"

12 August 2019, 15:18

While Christian (who plays Tony Padilla) doesn't mention Euphoria by name, many fans assume that he's comparing the graphic HBO show to the Netflix series.

Ever since it was first released on Netflix, 13 Reasons Why has been plagued with controversy due to its triggering subject matter and graphic depictions of teen suicide and sexual assault.

Some have praised the show for presenting real world issues in a raw, honest light and sparking a much needed conversation. Others have blamed the show for being irresponsible and sensationalising those topics.

READ MORE: 13 Reasons Why season 2 recap: Everything you need to remember before season 3

With season 3 about to be released on the streaming service, the backlash against the show is slowly starting to build again. And now, actor Christian Navarro who plays Tony Padilla on the show, has spoken out against all the hate that the show continues to receive when compared to "a myriad of other shows" that have been released - and praised - in the wake of it.

"Something’s been bothering me.... [sic]" Christian wrote at the start of his Twitter thread.

"We at 13 have worked so diligently to speak to our young people and inspire positive change. Because of one scene, our show was vilified, all of the detractors shot arrows at our labor of love. When you’re first you take the arrows."

He continued saying, "Since then, we’ve done what we think is responsible both in terms of filmmaking and our duty to our audience, and we removed the scene. As an artist, that’s a difficult choice to make. But we did it."

Christian is referring to the graphic scene that shows Hannah Baker taking her own life at the end of season 1. Some people praised the series for discussing suicide and mental health in such a harsh way, others (including mental health professionals) called it out for doing more harm than good.

The scene was recently removed by Netflix... two years after it had been released.

Christian then went on to explain how, in the wake of 13 Reasons Why, various other shows ("one in particular") have aired that tackle the same similar high school subject matter in a much more "risky" and "crude" way.

"Yet, the vitriol seems to only come our way," he wrote.

While Christian doesn't specifically name the show, many fans believe that he's talking about HBO's Euphoria. The Zendaya-led series tackled drug abuse, sexual abuse, revenge porn and violence (amongst many other things) and depicted an all round raw and graphic depiction of teen life in today's society.

The show received rave reviews from critics and a largely positive reaction on social media from fans.

Christian ended his thread saying, "It’s my hope that in time 13 Reasons Why will be seen as the groundbreaking, hard hitting show we all know it is. S3 is beautiful. Please, go back and re-watch and step back from the hate. We made our show in love. For love. For you.

Many of the replies to Christian's comments were largely in favour of the show, with one person writing: "13 is a WONDERFUL show and I hate seeing it being vilified because parents STILL don't want to see the reality kids go through in school."

Another wrote: "I do love the show. It’s what got me talking when I was with friends. It’s message is there."

Does Christian have a point? Or are people right for criticising the show?