Seventeen: "Cole Sprouse on Whether Jughead Should Be "Asexual" or End Up With Betty on "Riverdale""

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http://www.seventeen.com/celebrity/movies-tv/news/a46373/cole-sprouse-gets-honest-about-jugheads-sexuality-in-surprise-reddit-ama/

 

Cole Sprouse on Whether Jughead Should Be "Asexual" or End Up With Betty on "Riverdale"

So many conflicting feelings.

 

 

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CW

BY NOELLE DEVOE

 APR 12, 2017 

 

When Cole Sprouse started promoting Riverdale back in January, he got really honest about how he wanted to see his character Jughead Jones portrayed on screen. Last year, it was revealed in the Archie comic books that Jughead is asexual and Cole was pretty eager to have that aspect of the story portrayed on screen. "I come from an educational environment that really praises, as do I, the forms of representation that are otherwise lacking in our public media," Cole explained at the time.

 

That being said, anyone who's been watching the show knows that Jughead is romantically involved with Betty Cooper. I mean, they kiss on the regs.

 

This begs the question: Will asexuality be explored in Jughead's storyline?

During a surprise Reddit AMA session last night, Cole addressed some fans' concerns on the matter of representation. "Do you still [want Jughead to be asexual], or do you want him to continue to explore this relationship with Betty?" one fan asked. "I'm torn, because the ace exposure is so necessary, but their characters are going through some crazy stuff together, so it makes sense that they'd find solace in each other."

Cole got refreshingly honest, expressing his hope that Jughead is asexual.

"I continue to hope this question is asked, over and over, it will only increase visibility. Yes, I'm still a big proponent of this representation, and it needs to be done correctly," he shared.

In other words, you have to be patient.

 

By truly representing asexuality, he means that it's not as simple as Jughead just knowing at 16 that he's asexual. There's a journey to be had. "Jughead is 16 going on 17 (as of episode 10). Sexuality is fluid," Cole explained. "And where his sexuality is headed has, already, been heavily discussed... As an actor, I can only lend myself so much.

"Riverdale is a new universe, and we first need to think of jughead as a human agent within his environment, his decisions about his sexuality are going to be informed by his upbringing and his immediate and longterm desires. Betty and Jughead's coupling are a great example of such an informed decision."

Basically, while Jughead may appear to be straight at the moment, he's only sixteen and his sexuality isn't set in stone. The possibilities for his journey of sexual self-discovery are endless and it's awesome that Cole is excited to explore them!