West Side Story Star Rachel Zegler Is Now Invited to the Oscars

Update, 3/22/22: Rachel Zegler has been invited to present at the Oscars, the Hollywood Reporter reports. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited the West Side Story star to be a presenter at the ceremony. As the actress is currently in London shooting Snow White, "efforts are being undertaken to rearrange the film’s shooting schedule to enable Zegler to be at the Oscars."

Original, 3/21/22: Steven Spielberg's West Side Story is up for seven Oscars on Sunday night, but the film's Maria, Rachel Zegler, won't be in the audience. In an Instagram comment, Zegler wrote: "Idk y’all, I have tried it all, but it doesn’t seem to be happening."

She continued, "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. Thanks for all the shock and outrage – I’m disappointed too. But that’s okay. So proud of our movie."

Zegler was not nominated for her role and is not presenting at the event, so it is up to movie studios to invite her. Namely, the "last minute miracle" could be solved by the Walt Disney Company—which owns both 20th Century Studios, the studio that distributed West Side Story, and ABC, the channel broadcasting the ceremony. The 20-year-old actress is currently in London filming Disney's live action remake of Snow White, one possible reason why Disney wouldn't extent the invite to Zegler.

As Variety explained, "It would be up to the team at 20th Century Studios... to coordinate Zegler’s attendance through any of its nominees, spread across seven categories. Many of these additional plus ones are often used as a method to bring some of the top executives to the Oscars, which is essentially an exercise in massaging egos."

In addition, the venue for the Academy Awards—Los Angeles's Dolby Theater—reduced capacity from 3,300 to 2,500 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The main orchestra level, where nominees and presenters usually sit, normally seats around 1,460, which will be reduced to around 600.

Zegler's revelation sparked ire of fans social media, with many taking to Twitter to share why Zegler should attend the 2022 Oscars. (Many did not realize it was not the decision of the Oscars—rather Disney.) After the outrage, Zegler posted on Twitter, "We live in such unprecedented times and a lot of work behind the scenes goes into making movie magic happen [and] awards shows alike… Let’s all just respect the process and I’ll get off my phone."

Zegler, Town & Country's September 2021 cover star, said of playing Maria, "she’s 18. She’s discovering so much about herself and the way she thinks about the world." For her portrayal of the famous character, Zegler won the Golden Globe for best actress in a comedy or musical, and won best actress at the National Board of Review.

Zegler's co-star Ariana DeBose is widely favored to take home the Oscar this weekend for supporting actress—a win which would make history—and it could be all the more meaningful if Zegler is in the audience to cheer her on.

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