Ariana DeBose denies shading co-star Rachel Zegler with Instagram post
Ariana DeBose has insisted she didn't know a quote she posted on Instagram was a criticism of her West Side Story co-star Rachel Zegler.
The Oscar-winning actress shared a quote reading, "Narcissism is not something to be coddled or encouraged" in a since-deleted Instagram post on Tuesday.
Many followers took the post to suggest that DeBose was taking at aim at Zegler because the quote was from Jonah Platt, the son of Snow White producer Marc Platt. Jonah recently went viral for blaming Zegler for Snow White's box office failure in an Instagram comment, which he concluded with the narcissism line.
After deleting the post, the Argylle star insisted she didn't check the origins of the quote before she shared it.
"I post quotes all the time and thought this one was meaningful. Will fully cop to the fact I did not do any research on where this quote came from, nor did I know of the connection until it was pointed out to me," DeBose wrote on her Instagram Stories. "I have no intention of inserting myself into a news cycle. This is not the first time I've posted about dealing with narcissism and it probably won't be the last, but next time I'll be sure to clarify its origins first."
In his recent Instagram comment, Jonah claimed that his father flew across the U.S. to "reprimand" Zegler for writing "free palestine" in a series of tweets promoting the Snow White live-action remake.
He claimed that the star dragged "her personal politics" into the promotion of the film and her "actions clearly hurt the film's box office".
"Free speech does not mean you're allowed to say whatever you want in your private employment without repercussions," the actor/producer continued in the since-deleted comment. "Tens of thousands of people worked on that film and she hijacked the conversation for her own immature desires at the risk of all the colleagues and crew and blue collar workers who depend on that movie to be successful. Narcissism is not something to be coddled or encouraged."
Snow White, starring Zegler as the title character, was released in March. It received underwhelming reviews and took less than expected at the box office.
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