20 moments that prove Ugly Betty was ahead of its time

When they pretend Amanda is Betty

In Hollywood, even in 2018, there are still so many times where white actors are cast in roles that are meant to be people of color (we’re looking at you, Scarlett Johansson). You would think this would be a problem of the past, but POC are still being looked over for so many things, and often have their ideas taken by white people without being given credit. And that’s exactly what happened on this season 1 episode of Ugly Betty.

Betty is helping Daniel come up with fresh ideas for Mode, and they’re looking through back issues of Hudson, the magazine his brother Daniel was the editor-in-chief of before his death (but we know that he didn’t actually die, he just came back as Alexis). Betty realizes that a photographer named Vincent Bianchi did some amazing work for the magazine, and pitches him to Daniel.

Daniel tells Betty that Bianchi would never work for them, because he had indifferences with his brother Alex in the past. But Betty is Betty after all, and she doesn’t take no for an answer. When she’s telling her father about it, she realizes that Bianchi is from her neighborhood, and she uses that connection to bond with the photographer. Though he’s still against the idea of working with Daniel Meade, Betty sends him a sandwich from a Queens deli that he just can’t refuse.

It’s obviously a huge deal that Betty landed a high-profile photographer like him, and he insists that Betty join them for their business lunch. Betty gets a big makeover just for the occasion, but it’s a little too… Queens, thanks to the huge hair, bold prints, and lots of sparkles. After she gets teased by people in the office, she’s too embarrassed to go for lunch and tells them to pretend Amanda is her and he would never know the difference.

Though the plan backfired and the real Betty ends up at the restaurant to save the day, it doesn’t come as a surprise that they took Betty’s idea and put some blonde hair on it in the first place. This happens all too often in the real world, and as usual Ugly Betty wasn’t afraid to talk about it.