Rachel Zegler says she was asked by white execs if she was a 'legit' Latina in West Side Story castingZegler recalled the unsettling experience of being forced to prove your heritage to a room full of white executives.By Ryan Coleman Published on March 18, 2025 11:04PM EDThttps://ew.com/rachel-zegler-asked-by-white-execs-if-legit-latina-for-west-side-story-11699539Rachel Zegler is still shocked by some of her experiences throughout the West Side Story casting process."There's confusion because I don't have a single ounce of Latin in my name," she told Los Angeles Times in a Tuesday interview. "When I was in the running for María in West Side Story, they kept calling to ask if I was legit. I remember thinking, 'Do you want me to bring my abuelita in?' I will. I'll bring her into the studio if you want to meet her."The 23-year-old, New Jersey-born actress was among thousands of talents, well known and otherwise, who vied for the plum role in the adaptation of the 1957 stage musical. Zegler was very much in the "otherwise" camp, having never appeared in a screen role before director Steven Spielberg put out a 2018 casting call for Spanish-speaking actors for the film. The resulting film, which earned Zegler's costar Ariana DeBose an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, also draws heavily on the first film adaptation of the musical, which massively expanded the star profile of its María, Natalie Wood.
>>1393377https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAA1xgTTw9w
>>1393377>asked by white execs if she was a 'legit' Latin100% woke choice. Not that there's anything wrong with that. As long as actors can choose rolls where their skin color is different from the character that they're playing.like anthony quinn as hamza , the Muslim follower of the prophet Muhammad, or sir Lawrence Olivier as Othello, the Black Moor in Shakespeare's play, and especially, Robert Downey Jr in tropical thunder. Tits for tat
>>1393407>muh wokeStop using that word until you learn what it means.
>>1393422>The side that believes chopping off your dick makes you a woman thinks they have a right to berate others on objective definitions
>>1393448you sure have dick on your mind today don't you
>>1393377>faced racismlol, I think what you mean is she BENEFITTED from racism in her casting choice, because they would not have cast her if she were White.Racism would be if a White woman applied for a role that is clearly supposed to be White (such as a character whose name is literally Snow White) and then was asked to prove she was a 'legit' Latina because the casting refused to cast a White woman to play the role of a pale-skinned character named Snow White.>>1393422generally it means hating White men and believing that men can be women.Here, it's referring to the fact that Hollywood is happy to cast a Latina as Snow White, but would never cast a non-Latina in a Latina role. This double-standard is woke.
>>1393496no one cares faggot
>>1393377Cast a white person and you get scolded by the mob, verify someone is the ethnicity they claim and get bashed in the press, called "white" to protect your jew identity. You really can't win with these people, I would say boycott but I think we need to firebomb.
>>1393422>Stop using that word until you learn what it means.Woke Is like pornography, I can't define it, but I know it when I see it. Social minority justice is equal to erotica. Woke is equal to pornography.
>>1393377>tabloid trashI shant be watching the Disney slop.
>2018>/current news
her name is Rachel and not Raquel and she can even speak fluid spanish so where at the hispanic is just see a mixed american failure actress.
