'Sometimes it's hard to talk about and for people to understand, but when I was younger it definitely affected me a lot,' the actor said.
McLaughlin, 20, went on to explain that it still sometimes happens, “Even now some people don’t follow me or don’t support me because I’m Black,” he continued. “Sometimes overseas you feel the racism, you feel the bigotry. Sometimes it’s hard to talk about and for people to understand, but when I was younger it definitely affected me a lot.”
He started the series when he was 14, and he recalled his younger self wondering at the time why he was the least favorite on the show, with fewer followers than his co-stars. “I’m on the same show as everybody from season one,” he remembered thinking.“My parents had to be like, ‘It’s a sad truth, but it’s because you’re the Black child on the show,'” McLaughlin shared. “Because I was born with this beautiful chocolate skin, I’m not loved.