Bridgerton’s Jessica Madsen Encourages Mean DMs About Cressida

Bridgerton actress Jessica Madsen is opening up about the “interesting” DMs she receives about her character, Cressida Cowper.

“I mean, people are not the biggest fan of her,” Madsen, 32, told People, adding that she receives messages such as, “I love hating you so much” and “Thank you for letting me hate you so much.”

But the actress says she is perfectly fine with viewers sharing their distaste for Cressida in her inbox.

“It makes me feel like I’ve done my job right,” she said, adding that she sometimes responds to messages with a playful, “You’re welcome.”

“I really don’t take those things personally,” Madsen continued. “The internet is wild. But I like it when people who I meet [who] have appreciated the show. Yeah. That’s always lovely.”

Madsen’s character has been at the center of plenty of drama in Bridgerton season 3, which premiered on Thursday, May 16. Cressida has forged an unlikely friendship with Eloise Bridgerton (played by Claudia Jessie) in the wake of Eloise ending her friendship with Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan).

Madsen believes that viewers are finally getting to see the real Cressida, who she says is not the “mean girl” viewers think she is.

“The mask is falling off Cressida. She’s becoming a human being. No, we’re getting to see her human side and why she is the way she is,” the actress told People.

Elsewhere in the ton, Bridgerton newcomer Victor Alli recently told Us Weekly about joining the cast as John Stirling, a new suitor for Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd).

Alli said he loved working with Dodd to bring John and Francesca’s romance to life.

“It was really, really fun. Hannah is so, so cool. She is incredible and [an] amazing actress. It was just a pleasure working with her,” Alli exclusively told Us. “It was nice to collaborate and share ideas. We would go back and forth with what we thought would happen in the scene, what our characters would say and what we can bring. And in between takes, we just speak a lot about the characters and the story and the journey. I learned so much from her, and it was just a complete joy.”

The first part of Bridgerton season 3 is now streaming on Netflix. The second part premieres on Thursday, June 13.