'West Side Story' Star Rachel Zegler Not Invited to 2022 Oscars
Despite West Side Story's nomination for Best Picture at the 2022 Oscars, the film’s lead did not receive an invitation to the ceremony.
Despite the film’s nomination for Best Picture, Rachel Zegler, who plays Maria in Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of 'West Side Story', announced that she did not receive an invitation to this year’s Oscars.
On Zegler’s Instagram post from Sunday, a fan commented, “Can’t wait to see what you’ll be wearing on Oscar night,” to which she responded, “I’m not invited so sweatpants and my boyfriend’s flannel.”
Following Zegler’s comment, her post was flooded with comments of both support and outrage from her fans. Zegler later commented, “idk y’all i have tried it all but it doesn’t seem to be happening :’) i will root for west side story from my couch and be proud of the work we so tirelessly did 3 years ago. i hope some last minute miracle occurs and i can celebrate our film in person but hey, that’s how it goes sometimes, i guess. thanks for all the shock and outrage— i’m disappointed, too. but that’s okay. so proud of our movie.”
Although Zegler is not nominated for an award herself, the lack of invitation does come as a surprise as she is the lead in one of this year's most-nominated films. The actress's comment also hints that she has unsuccessfully tried to receive an invitation herself. This comes as a particular shock especially after Zegler’s Golden Globes win earlier this year for her performance in 'West Side Story'.
Traditionally, it is the movie studios, Disney, in this case, that are in charge of dispersing the tickets to those involved in the nominated films. Since Zegler’s announcement, there has been a wave of outrage over Disney's controversial decision, however, the company has not yet released a statement regarding their decision.
