If you’re a fan of the Netflix original series,On My Block,or if you just started watching the series, you’ve probably noticed that there is a rather sudden disappearance of a certain recurring character.
Ronni Hawk, who plays the role of Olivia, Rudy’s family friend, doesn’t appear after season 1 and isn’t even mentioned very much in the seasons after.
Fans of the series speculate that her character was purposefully killed off due to the controversy surrounding the actress, however, that may not be the case.
The short answer to this question is, not really.
According to Screen Rant, the fate of Olivia was already decided before the end of the first season. Her character was written to not survive the shooting and serve as a push for Rudy’s storyline of his survivor’s guilt and trauma.
Though, the timing of Olivia’s death did seem too good to be coincidental, which is why fans wonder if she was fired.
In April 2018, a month afterOn My Block‘s debut, Ronni Hawk came under a lot of fire after her old tweets resurfaced showing her to be pro-Trump and even supported some of his policies about anti-gun control.
While an actress’s political party isn’t necessarily grounds for dismissal, fans of the hilariousoriginal series weren’t laughing upon finding out such a thing.
Fans found it ridiculously hypocritical that Hawk played the role of an immigrant daughter who is suffering from her parent’s deportation but supported former President Trump.
Latinx viewers of the show spoke out against the Ronni Hawk controversy. Here’s what they had to say.
In addition to the tweets (that she has since deleted), fans were upset to find out that Hawk was a Caucasian American actress playing a Latinx role, which is why Jenna Ortega, her former co-star from the Disney Channel show,Stuck in the Middle,called Hawk out on her privilege on Twitter.
Between whitewashing, supporting the prejudice against marginalized groups, and not recognizing her privilege, fans demanded that Ronni Hawk be recast on the series, starting the hashtag, #recastolivia, to let their voices be heard.
Ultimately, the timing was, in fact, coincidental as Olivia was already deceased in the show.
Since then, Ronni Hawk has apologized for her past tweets, stating:
"[…] I learned so much from this show about injustices that take place in this world and that being silent is just as bad as doing nothing. So to my fans, I am deeply sorry if I offended any of you. I promise that in the future I will not make any statements without being fully informed."
Seemingly turning over a new leaf, Hawk has since deleted her pro-Trump tweets and is now a self-proclaimed social activist.
On My Block season 4 is in the works at Netflix! We’ll let you know the release date when we find out.
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