ShaniseAsToldBy

Welcome Back To AsToldByShanise! Today we will be discussing the Off Campus loud and quiet reaction to Jalen playing beloved character, Tucker.

Let’s get into it…

Upon watching and quietly entering the Off Campus Fandom, I noticed one thing. That MOST fans were leaving Jalen out of the core 4 edits . When you watch an off campus edit , you mostly see , Belmont, Antonio, and Stephen . When the books are centered around all FOUR of the hockey players , including Jalen’s character Tucker . But he’s being quietly excluded . And it’s solely based on the fact that a person of color actor was casted for a white role.

In the books Tucker was described as having ginger hair and being super tall. That is legit all, Jalen is 5’9, mixed raced and has beautiful black curly hair. book adaptations don’t always stick to the book 100% and are known to cast whoever they feel embodies the character perfectly. I personally feel after watching interviews and seeing the show a few hundred times , that Jalen is perfect . And if he was casted , that means he must have the range to carry out what is needed for his character in the future .

It’s also noted that they aged him down for the show and that if the show continues and they would eventually age him up as the series goes . In the book Tucker is teased for his baby face and later grows out his beard. Which Jalen normally sports and it takes his adorable face to a much more mature handsome face . Jalen also stars in the Emmy awarded show The Pit. So it’s clear he’s a talented young actor and can do what’s needed. It’s also doesn’t help that because they aged him down in the show and didn’t give him many important lines. Aside from being the chef and peace maker. I also wasn’t crazy about the way they dressed him. But maybe that will change as the seasons go on .

It sadly all boils down to racism . We’ve seen it time and time again. We saw it with Halle and the little mermaid . We saw it with Amandla and The Hunger Games. These fandoms claim it’s not racism and they just want their book characters to be accurate. But what does it matter if the actor hired is actually talented and handsome ?and I would get it if the characters they were portraying were real people . But it’s all fiction and never THAT DEEP.

It’s unfair because Jalen seems very personable, kind, sweet, and he’s such a cutie pie. And the cast seems to adore him! I know it usually takes people time to come around to changes and when his show comes around they’ll all be drooling. It’s just not right for him or his character to be excluded , when he indeed has his own book and is a part of the core four. and as I’m reading all the books( out of order), Tucker is becoming my favorite. He’s such a southern gentleman, even under the circumstances his character goes through!

Stop all the Jalen/ Tucker SLANDER!! Let’s let him cook ,( no pun intend), a bit and watch him grow . I bet you all will be coming around and loving him as much as we do!!!

Thanks For Reading !