‘Bridgerton’ Star Rege-Jean Page Pulled Into ‘Summer House’ Stars Paige DeSorbo and Hannah Berner’s ‘Light’ Skin Controversy

Summer House star Paige DeSorbo issued an apology after her statement calling Bridgerton star Rege-Jean Page “light-skinned.” On her podcast, Giggly Squad, which she co-hosts with fellow Summer House star Hannah Berner, the actress mentioned her support for Page being cast as the next James Bond because “he’s real British [and] he’s light-skinned.” However, she quickly issued an apology after realizing how her words can be interpreted as “offensive,” according to Us Weekly.

“I wanted to take time to sincerely apologize to anyone that I may have offended,” the Bravo reality star said on her podcast. “It was not my intention and I recognize [that] what I said was wrong, I am completely committed to learning and growing, so I just wanted to take time today and sincerely apologize for my words from last week. I’m very sorry.”

Berner chimed in and issued an apology as well for not holding her co-host accountable, saying, “Because we are the Giggly Squad and we are a team, I also want to apologize for not saying anything in the moment. But as the Giggly Squad, we own our s— and we are committed to [continuing] to learn — also to unlearn — and to [continuing] to grow.” Berner added that they are on a “journey to educate ourselves” and recommended their listeners watch the documentary called Dark Girls, “It’s beautifully made and we can’t just recommend it enough, especially if you want to further educate yourself.”

The Shondaland production hit Netflix in December 2020 and has already become the fifth most popular original release. The series has captured a massive audience and the diversity of the cast has helped make that possible.The series’ star Nicola Coughlan, who plays Penelope Featherington, reminded her fans that diversity is a key factor that has won over the hearts of millions. “You know the way some people were like, ‘Diversity in period drama doesn’t work’ … 63 million households thought it did tho so,” she tweeted according to the outlet.

Page told CBS This Morning via Us Weekly, “I think it’s great to include people in our storytelling in the 21st century. I think we have a very long and sad tradition of excluding people from stories, excluding people from history — literally painting people out of historical pictures and documents. So, it’s the very least we can do to start painting people back in.”