This Sunday, Hollywood’s elite will walk the red carpet at the 94th Academy Awards. However, despite its seven Oscar nominations, apparently “West Side Story” actress Rachel Zegler, the lead actor of the film that the story revolves around, has not been invited tothe ceremony. The young actress revealed to a fan on social media that she shockingly won’t be attending the star-studded event this Sunday. This is undoubtedly odd given that the Steven Spielberg remake is one of the biggest contenders for awards this year, and again, she’s the lead actor.
“I’m not invited, so sweatpants and my boyfriend’s flannel,” the actress responded to a fan on Instagram (See below) and confirmed she didn’t receive an invite.
Given all Hollywood’s talk of inclusion, it’s pretty damn insulting given that her “West Side Story” co-star Ariana DeBose was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, but Zegler, the lead, is out in the cold. The film is also up for Best Picture and Best Director, among other awards. Zegler is a rising star, and you’d think Oscar producers would have wanted other cast members there to show their support, not to mention get younger viewers interested in the awards ceremony.
Given all the controversies that have centered around him, it’ll be pretty damn interesting to see how folks will react if actor Ansel Elgort shows up on the red carpet with his invite in hand while Zegler stays at home (though the optics of this story are so terrible and embarrassing, expect an invite, a change and an update soon).
The troubling news comes in the wake of the controversial choice by ABC and Oscar producers to not hand out technical awards during the live broadcast, something many people are up-in-arms about, including filmmakers like Guillermo del Toro, Jane Campion, Denis Villeneuve, and Steven Spielberg. Another bad idea that might tarnish the event.
READ MORE: Gal Gadot To Play The Evil Queen In Disney’s Upcoming ‘Snow White’ Live-Action Remake
Over the weekend, Zegler took to Twitter to thank fans for their support after disclosing she wasn’t invited and to let them know she’s busy shooting something in London, assumed to be Disney’s live-action “Snow White” film from director Marc Webb (“The Amazing Spider-Man”) with Gal Gadot (“Wonder Woman”) playing the Evil Queen.
