Bridgerton Star Jonathan Bailey Addresses Show’s “Brilliant” Gender-Swapped Storyline

The Viscount Bridgerton is standing by his little sister's love.

Jonathan Bailey reflected on the backlash from some fans after the Bridgerton series revealed a major change from the books by introducing the future love interest of Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd) as Michaela Sterling (Masali Baduza), not Michael.

"It's interesting to see their responses to shifts in the adaptation," Jonathan explained on the Aug. 22 episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast. "Which, for me, is actually quite upsetting to see. [The writers] changed the gender of Michael Sterling to Michaela, which I think is brilliant and exactly what should be happening."

As the negative responses continued to pick up traction after the season three finale, the books' author Julia Quinn defended the decision and shared insight into the creative process.

"Anyone who has seen an interview with me from the past four years knows that I am deeply committed to the Bridgerton world becoming more diverse and inclusive as the stories move from book to screen," she wrote on Instagram in June. "But switching the gender of a major character is a huge change."

Julia emphasized that the decision to turn Michael—whom Francesca marries after the death of her husband John (played by Victor Alli)—into Michaela wasn't made lightly.

"I trust Shondaland's vision for Bridgerton, but I wanted to be sure that we could remain true to the spirit of the book and of the characters," she explained, adding that she and season three showrunner Jess Brownell "talked for a long time about it."

"I am grateful for your understanding and touched by your deep commitment to the characters of the Bridgerton world," she noted. "I ask that you grant me and the Shondaland team some faith as we move forward."

And for Jess, she felt the decision actually embodied Francesca's storyline in her book When He Was Wicked.

"I didn't want to just insert a queer character for queer," she told Teen Vogue in June. "I want to tell a story that accurately reflects a queer experience, and the first time I read Francesca's book, I really identified with it as a queer woman. Maybe not in the way Julia Quinn intended."

"Her book is very much about [Francesca] feeling different, and not really knowing why," Jess continued. "In the book, I think it has a lot to do with her just being an introvert, but as a queer woman, a lot of my queer experience, and I think a lot of my friends' [experiences have] been about that sense of feeling different, and navigating what that means."

But Jess also recognized that with such a passionate fanbase, there would be mixed reactions to the team's creative decisions, even with Julia's blessings.

"The fan base is not a monolith, and you're never going to please every single side of the fan base," she added. "We talked about the fact that with almost any single book, there would be a side of the fandom that would be disheartened to see their favorite characters changed. I don't think that there is any book that wouldn't happen with, so for me, it came back to story and it came back to character."