Oscars Blatantly Forget Disney’s Rachel Zegler, Send “Pity” Invite

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Rachel Zegler as Maria

Credit: 20th Century Studios

The Oscars are just around the corner, but one of the most popular actresses globally who lead in Disney’s West Side Story (2021) won’t be present (exactly).

ansel elgort (left) and rachel zegler (right) dancing in west side story
Credit: 20th Century Studios

Related: Rachel Zegler Feels “Weird” Seeing Snow White at Magic Kingdom

When the Academy Awards released their nominations for the 2022 Oscars, director Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story swept the awards, scoring seven nominations, including Best Picture.

With the West Side Story remake scoring so well among the Academy, many assumed that the entire cast and crew would be invited to the awards.

Ansel Elgort as Tony (left) and Rachel Zegler as Maria (right)
Credit: 20th Century Studios

West Side Story star, lead actress, and Golden Globe winner Rachel Zegler, who’s currently in London filming Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) remake, revealed on a social media post that she was not invited to attend the 2022 Oscars this Sunday:

Rachel Zegler has revealed that she has not been invited to the #Oscars, despite being the lead in ‘West Side Story’, which has been nominated for 7 #Oscars.

Zegler’s post enraged the internet, with many starting fan-made movements to push for the young actress to be invited to attend the Oscars with Steven Spielberg and co-star Ansel Elgort (Baby Driver).

Ansel Elgort as Tony (left) and Rachel Zegler as Maria (right)
Credit: 20th Century Studios

Related: ‘Snow White’ Receives MORE Backlash, Rachel Zegler Defends Casting Choices

Twitter and Instagram exploded following this revelation, with many leaving comments of encouragement for Zegler and disappointment in the Academy to seemingly forget or ignore inviting the lead actress in one of the most popular movies of 2021.

Ansel Elgort as Tony (left) and Rachel Zegler as Maria (right)
Credit: 20th Century Studios

Following the online controversies, the Oscars have reportedly corrected their mistakes and are actively attempting to get Rachel Zegler to the Academy Awards as a presenter:

Oscars: Rachel Zegler Has Been Invited to Be a Presenter.

While many are excited to see Zegler on screen this Sunday, countless fans call the Oscars make-up to invite “pathetic” and a “pity” attempt to bring West Side Story’s lead actress to the show, someone who should have been invited regardless.

The Hollywood Reporter reveals:

Following an Internet firestorm over the revelation that Rachel Zegler, the star of best picture Oscar nominee West Side Story, had not been invited to attend the 2022 Oscars on Sunday night, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited the up-and-comer to be a presenter at the ceremony, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Ariana DeBose as Anita (middle)
Credit: 20th Century Studios

THR continues:

The 20-year-old Latina actress is currently in London shooting Disney’s live-action remake of Snow White. THR hears that efforts are being undertaken to rearrange the film’s shooting schedule to enable Zegler to be at the Oscars.

In response to this posting, social media users erupted in outrage, as did notables from One Day at a Time co-creator Gloria Calderon Kellett to the original West Side Story‘s Riff, Russ Tamblyn, with many remarking on the oddity of non-industry types like Tony Hawk and Shaun White having been asked to present on the show, but not the leading lady and public face of a best picture Oscar nominee.

Rachel Zegler as Maria
Credit: 20th Century Studios

Many fans shared their excitement for Zegler and disappointment in the Oscars:

i would turn them down at that point like i’m not accepting a pity invite.

Another fan wrote:

It’s pathetic that she had to be invited as a presenter when the film she starred in earned seven Oscar nominations. She shouldn’t have need a presenter invite in the first place.

Another fan shared:

She’s only now being invited because of the uproar on social media, seems she is currently busy filming Snow White in London & now the shooting schedule is having to be rearranged, let’s hope she doesn’t catch covid after attending the Oscars because of this

Disney is reportedly re-arranging the principal photography production schedule to allow Rachel Zegler to fly from London to Los Angeles this week for the Oscars, giving the Disney star enough time to attend Oscar practices and get ready for the event.

West Side Story Cast
Credit: 20th Century Studios

Rachel Zegler recently scored a Golden Globe Best Actress, Musical or Comedy for her first lead role, something that only a handful of actresses have done in Hollywood’s history.

Disney has quite a bit at stake for the 2022 Oscars, with their 20th Century Studios’ West Side Story, Encanto (2021), Luca (2021), and more being nominated for some of the biggest Oscars of the year.

More about West Side Story

Love at first sight strikes when young Tony (Ansel Elgort) spots Maria (Rachel Zegler) at a high school dance in 1957 New York City. Their burgeoning romance helps to fuel the fire between the warring Jets and Sharks — two rival gangs vying for control of the streets.

Ariana DeBose as Anita
Credit: 20th Century Studios

Nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actress (Ariana DeBose) and 11 Critics’ Choice Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actress (Ariana DeBose, Rita Moreno), West Side Story is the winner of three Golden Globe awards—Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy; Best Actress, Musical or Comedy (Rachel Zegler) and Best Supporting Actress (Ariana DeBose) – and a SAG Award for Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role (Ariana DeBose). The film has also received nominations from the DGA (Steven Spielberg), PGA (Steven Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger), and WGA (Tony Kushner) and has been named one of the year’s Top 10 films by the American Film Institute and the National Board of Review, the latter having voted Rachel Zegler Best Actress of the Year.

Ansel Elgort as Tony
Credit: 20th Century Studios

Directed by Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg, from a screenplay by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Tony Kushner, West Side Story tells the classic tale of fierce rivalries and young love in 1957 New York City. This reimagining of the beloved musical stars Ansel Elgort (Tony); Ariana DeBose (Anita); David Alvarez (Bernardo); Mike Faist (Riff); Brian d’Arcy James (Officer Krupke); Corey Stoll (Lieutenant Schrank); Josh Andrés Rivera (Chino); with Rita Moreno (as Valentina, who owns the corner store in which Tony works); and introducing Rachel Zegler (Maria.) Moreno – one of only three artists to be honored with Academy, Emmy, GRAMMY, Tony, and Peabody Awards – also serves as one of the film’s executive producers.

Do you think Rachel Zegler should have been invited to the Oscars? Let us know in the comments below!

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