'Bridgerton' stars explain Michael, Michaela gender swap in Francesa's love story

Bridgerton stars Masali Baduza and Hannah Dodd are defending the gender swap of Francesca’s love interest Michael/Michaela.

In Julia Quinn’s book When He Was Wicked, Francesca’s future love interest is a man named Michael. In the show, it’s her husband John’s cousin Michaela, played by Baduza.

"I understand that the Bridgerton book fans are very passionate about these characters, and I am too," Baduza, 28, told Refinery29 Australia.

"Everyone’s story deserves to be told," she continued, adding, "I love Michaela so much, and I am just very proud to tell the story alongside Hannah. In Bridgerton, a lot of the characters are growing into themselves and learning new things about themselves."

"I think that the show accepts that, I think it’s important for everyone else to accept that too, and hopefully that can be reflected back into society," she added.

Dodd reminded fans that the book will always be there for those who miss Michael.

"The book will always exist as well, [but] I’m really, really excited to tell this story and also give it the platform it deserves, like a leading story line, not additional characters," Dodd told the outlet.

Showrunner Jess Brownell previously explained the swap in a 2024 interview with Teen Vogue.

"The reveal of Michaela vs. Michael — from the books — is something that I’ve been pitching from season 1 of the show. My approach to telling a queer story on Bridgerton has been to look to the books for thematic cues. I didn’t want to just insert a queer character for queer character’s sake," she explained.

"The fact of the matter is, the fan base is not a monolith, and you’re never going to please every single side of the fan base," she continued at the time. "In, for example, deciding to tell a queer story with Francesca, I spoke with Julia Quinn, I got her blessing."