‘Bridgerton’ Author Julia Quinn Just Defended That Controversial Gender Swap, But Some Book Readers Are Still Upset

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD FOR BOTH THE NETFLIX BRIDGERTON SERIES AND JULIA QUINN’S BRIDGERTON NOVELS.

Netflix’s Bridgerton, based on the romance series by author Julia Quinn, has always played a little fast and loose with historical accuracy and made some major changes to the source material to allow the show to be more racially diverse than the books. But one choice, revealed at the end of season three, has caused so much controversy that author Julia Quinn has released a statement about it directly to fans. Here’s what’s up.

Each book in the series focuses on a different Bridgerton family sibling. Daughter Francesca’s, When He Was Wicked, sees her falling in love with her husband’s John’s cousin Michael after John dies. Viewers met John in the third season of Bridgerton and saw him and Francesca develop a bond over their love of the quiet life and ultimately marry. In the last episode, Francesca meets his cousin, Michaela, and seems smitten with her. This twist stirred up a lot of feelings in the notoriously passionate romance community, so Quinn took to Instagram to respond.

“When [showrunner] Jess Brownell first approached me with the idea of turning Michael into Michaela for the show, I needed more information before conferring my agreement…. I made it clear that it was extremely important to me that Francesca’s abiding love for John be shown on screen,” she wrote in a lengthy statement.