The likely explanation is that the publication intentionally misrepresented what the casting director said. They were probably talking about how what they DID with her in the first season challenged beauty standards. They intentionally made her “ugly” for the story. The casting director might not have meant they hired her because she wasn’t conventionally attractive, but the publication knew they could get more clicks by quoting her out of context.

Also, this thread has been kind of toxic about beauty stuff which makes me sad :(