Ariana DeBose is setting the record straight on speculation she was throwing shade at former West Side Story costar Rachel Zegler.
“I post quotes all the time and thought this one was meaningful,” DeBose, 34, shared in an Instagram Story post on Tuesday, April 1. “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.”
She added: “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.”
Earlier on Tuesday, DeBose uploaded a quote made by Jonah Platt.
“Narcissism is not something to be coddled or encouraged,” she posted, but the Oscar winner was quick to delete the quote after learning where the context. (DeBose and Zegler appeared together in the 2021 West Side Story remake.)
Rachel Zegler Views Live-Action ‘Snow White’ Backlash as ‘Passion’
Jonah, 38, shared his thoughts on narcissism — referring to Zegler — in a lengthy Instagram comment in defense of his father, Marc Platt, who produced the live-action Snow White movie.
It was reported late last month that Marc, 67, flew to New York City and met with Zegler, 23, and begged her to pull back on sharing political commentary on social media. Zegler allegedly refused.
A social media commenter alluded to the report on Jonah’s Instagram account, which caused him to hit back.
“You really want to do this? Yeah, my dad, the producer of enormous piece of Disney IP with hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, had to leave his family to fly across the country to reprimand his 20 year old employee for dragging her personal politics into the middle of promoting the movie for which she signed a multi-million dollar contract to get paid and do publicity for,” he wrote in the since-deleted comment. “This is called adult responsibility and accountability. And her actions clearly hurt the film’s box office.”
Rachel Zegler Says Backlash to Her ‘Snow White’ Reboot Made Her ‘Sad’
Jonah continued: “Free speech does not mean you’re allowed to say whatever you want in your private employment without repercussions. 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.”
Zegler has not publicly addressed the criticism. She did, however, post a lengthy Instagram post of her own thanking the movie’s cast and crew on March 21 — but left costar Gal Gadot out of the tribute.
Despite taking the No. 1 spot at the box office during opening week last month, it’s been projected that Snow White will take a monetary hit adding up to a loss well over $100 million.
