Why Glee 's Amber Riley "Despises" When People Call Her "Mercedes"
Attention, Gleeks: Amber Riley has a message for you.
More than 10 years after she was cast as Mercedes Jones on Glee, the 35-year-old actress recently asked people to stop referring to her by her former character's name. In a public plea shared to her Twitter, Amber explained why she doesn't like being called "Mercedes" and refuses to address those who choose to use that name when speaking to her.
"I despise when ppl call me Mercedes. Put some respect on my name. Call me AMBER or RILEY," Amber, who also performs as a singer under the stage name RILEY, tweeted on Jan. 15. "It's wild that I even have to say that. No shade to the show/character that gave me a career, but please stop this s--t. I don't answer to it, and if you do it facetiously I'll block you."
"I've done too much in my career to be reduced to one role," she continued in another tweet. "Whether you respect the work I've done or not, I don't really care, BUT basic human decency is to recognize me as a person and use my actual name. Boundaries."
While most fans voiced their support for Amber, her request was also met with some negative feedback, with one Twitter user saying that her ask was a "first world problem." However, Amber didn't back down and defended her decision to speak out.
"As a black woman I've learned i have to advocate for myself and set clear boundaries because no one else will do it for me!" she argued, adding in another tweet, "I'm emotionally intelligent enough to know the difference between someone being genuinely excited, and someone being an A--hole. This was mainly for the a--holes. BUT, there is nothing wrong with telling people how you want to be addressed."
She added, "People hate when black ppl advocate for themselves and it shows. I don't even think what I said was wild."
Although Amber prefers that fans call her by her birth name, she is still grateful to be recognized for her role on Glee. When one Twitter user commented that it seemed like the star was "ready to say goodbye to Mercedes," Amber clarified in her response, "I'll never say goodbye to her, ever. I love her."
Amber played Mercedes on Glee from 2009 to 2015, when the show ended after six seasons.
Since then, she has continued to pursue a career in acting, appearing in hit series such as Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and A Black Lady Sketch Show, as well as televised musicals like The Wiz Live! and The Little Mermaid Live!. Onstage, she starred in productions of Dreamgirls and Little Shop of Horrors.
In November 2020, Amber announced that she'd gotten engaged to entrepreneur Desean Black. She captioned an Instagram photo of the couple at the time, "There was a time when I thought I didn't want or deserve this kind of love. I'm looking at a man who changed my mind."
"My time by myself, loving on myself, getting comfortable with myself, prepared me for you, and prepared me for this," she added. "I am so proud to say, I am the future Mrs. Black."