Van der Pol went on to say that she felt the original decision was racially motivated. “I went into a big cattle call and I finally got the part,” she said of landing the role of Raven’s best friend on the series. “I think the character’s name was like, Molly, then Emma, and then it became Chelsea. And I think it was kind of like racism at a low level, if that’s even a possibility. They couldn’t really see a Black girl leading a show.”