'Riverdale': Lili Reinhart defends Shannon Purser after kiss scene

Oct. 31 (UPI) -- Lili Reinhart is standing up for Shannon Purser following last week's episode of Riverdale.

The 22-year-old actress responded to fan backlash against Purser, her friend and co-star on The CW series, in a tweet Tuesday.

Purser was the target of online hate after her character, Ethel Muggs, kissed Betty Cooper's (Reinhart) on-again, off-again beau Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse) during the Oct. 24 episode.

"Shannon is my friend, and it is embarrassing that people felt the need to attack her personally for something that happened on a SHOW. Written by WRITERS," Reinhart wrote. "You are not a fan of mine if you treat my friend like this."

"Bughead" shippers, or fans of Betty and Jughead's relationship, called Purser "fat" and "ugly" after the kiss aired last week. The 21-year-old actress addressed the backlash in since-deleted tweets.

"all the stans who finally feel comfortable calling me fat/ugly now that Ethel has interfered with their ship," Purser wrote, according to PopBuzz.

"I'm not stressed about it, trust me. I just wonder what these people will think in like 10 yrs when they remember their twitter and realize they insulted and attacked real human beings for their character on a tv show..." she added.

Riverdale airs Wednesdays on The CW. The series co-stars KJ Apa, Camila Mendes, Marisol Nichols, Mark Consuelos and Madelaine Petsch.