West Side Story actor Rachel Zegler has revealed she hasn’t got an invite to the Oscars.
The 94th Academy Awards, set for March 27, features seven nominations for West Side Story (including Best Picture) but Zegler – who plays lead Maria – won’t be there.
"I have tried it all but it doesn’t seem to be happening," Zegler shared on Instagram (H/T Variety). "I will root for West Side Story from my couch and be proud of the work we so tirelessly did three 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."
Taking to social media, film fans reacted with a mixture of shock and disbelief and Zegler’s Oscars snub.
"Absolutely unfathomable," wrote one. Another said it was "quite upsetting." In a cutting reaction, one on Twitter said the decision to keep Zegler at home was "another example of [the Oscars’] fading relevancy and terrible decision making."
While Zegler didn’t make it onto the individual honors list at the Academy Awards, her work in West Side Story saw her take home a Golden Globe for Best Actress - Musical or Comedy for her turn in Steven Spielberg’s all-singing, all-dancing musical.
The Oscars has recently courted controversy with its decision to hand out multiple awards, including Makeup and Hairstyling and Best Documentary Short, before the televised broadcast.
It led to Spielberg telling Deadline that he disagreed with the move. “All of us make movies together, we become a family where one craft is just as indispensable as the next,” the director said. “I feel that at the Academy Awards there is no above the line, there is no below the line. All of us are on the same line bringing the best of us to tell the best stories we possibly can.”
For more on the Academy Awards, check out our rundown of Oscars predictions for this year ─ including who could (and should) win.
