Tim Burton and Netflix’s Wednesday have been the subject of some online backlash for its casting of Black actors as minor antagonists in the Addams Family series. However, it seems that the opinions of people calling out the show, particularly the director, may have been a little premature. Actress Joy Sunday, who plays Nevermore school’s top mean girl Bianca, has dismissed any such suggestions and expressed how much she enjoyed working with Tim Burton.

Last week, several social media posts and Rotten Tomato reviews claimed that some of Wednesday’s casting was done to put the show’s Black stars into low-level villains in the series. This included some posts pulling out historical quotes from Burton stating that he didn’t necessarily feel the need to shoehorn Black characters into his movies if they didn’t fit. However, as one of the stars at the center of the controversy, Joy Sunday has been mostly unaware of the backlash and told Deadline that people shouldn’t judge the character too early. She said:

“Bianca is riding on the coattails of so many characters before her, and I think this conversation and any conversations about this is always important because we can all learn something. It’s always insightful to hear, but I would also encourage people to give her a chance to bloom; we’re just meeting the characters for the first time and there are only 8 episodes. There are so many places for them to go. Even people who are beloved and are good characters could become really evil. Bianca wasn’t a villain or evil at all, she was just responding to the stimulus around her as anybody would.”

Related: Wednesday Overtakes Stranger Things as Netflix's Highest-Watched Series in One Week's Time

Working With Tim Burton was a Positive Experience For the Wednesday Actress

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Netflix

Regarding her feelings about working on the series, Sunday couldn’t hold back her enthusiasm. The show was shot in location in Romania, and while the young star found it hard being so far away from home, she would not have changed it for the world. She continued:

“I loved working with everyone on the set. It was really tough being out there in Romania away from home for a lot of people, so we bonded quickly over that and tried our best to take care of each other. Tim was remarkable to work with simply because he’s an auteur, he’s a household name. But it never felt like what you would expect someone of that level to be like. I’m smiling now because he just made us feel so comfortable and was so receptive to collaboration. He was so ready to play and was somebody to laugh with on set…It was a really beautiful experience and I feel so lucky to be with that. We all love and care for each other and I think the paramount person responsible for that feeling is Jenna Ortega. She really is an anchor for all of us and we’re so proud of her.”

Wednesday is streaming its full first season now on Netflix.