The Original Riff Speaks Up About Rachel Zegler Oscars Snub. Says Russ Tamblyn: 'Representation Matters.'
If Rachel Zegler doesn't get a seat at the Oscars this year, at least we know people did everything they could to try and make it happen.
Apparently, the reason for this apparent snub was simple numbers: Tickets first go out to nominees and their families, and then they're given in batches to studios in amounts about proportionate to the number of nominees they recieved. Zegler, apparently, just didn't make the list for 20th Century Fox (a studio owned by Disney); it wasn't actually the Academy's doing.
Fans online, however, don't care how Zegler gets a ticket; they just want her there. In fact, many fans and other actors alike have pointed out that this has become a representation issue: As one of the only movies nominated with a latino/latina leads, it's some of the only representation that community gets this year - which makes it feel like an even bigger snub that Zegler wasn't invited.
Among the outspoken many is Russ Tamblyn, a fellow co-star of Rita Moreno's from the original West Side Story; Tamblyn played Riff in the 1961 version. He tweeted:
@TheAcademy as a voting member and the original Riff, let me say: it’s your duty to find Rachel a seat at the Oscars. she STARS in #Westsidestory which is nominated across the board. When they say representation matters, this is what that means. Please do right by her. https://t.co/X23XyOZo26
— Russ Tamblyn (@RussTamblyn) March 21, 2022
Other professionals are speaking out too:
One Day at a Time co-creator Gloria Calderón Kellett said the snub was especially sad because this was a "rare time that Latine people have a movie nominated for an OSCAR."
Similarly, Rutherford Falls co-creator Sierra Teller Ornelas said:
"This may seem like a small papas thing, but all we hear is 'you folks have no stars to build projects around'. S- like this is how we do that!"
As for Zegler herself, she at least seems comfortably resigned about this: It is a pandemic, after all, and special accommodations had to be made with respect to social distancing.
"Idk y'all i have tried it all but it doesn't seem to be happening," Zegler she said Sunday on Instagram. "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."
Even still, the Oscars aren't until Sunday...maybe there's still time for Disney to find Tink and shake out a little of that magic for their Maria.
