Ariana DeBose turns on co-star Rachel Zegler with ‘narcissism’ post — then backtracks
She took a bite out of a poisoned apple.
On Tuesday, Ariana DeBose, 34, posted a now-deleted Instagram post slamming her “West Side Story” co-star Rachel Zegler, 23 over the latter’s “Snow White” controversy.
The original post that the “Hamilton” actress displayed on her Instagram was a quote saying, “Narcissism is not something to be coddled or encouraged.”
After that initial post, DeBose said in a follow-up, “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.”
The actress won an Oscar for her supporting role as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s 2021 adaptation of “West Side Story.” Zegler starred as Maria in that film.
“I have no intention of inserting myself into a news cycle,” DeBose added in her follow-up post. “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.”
The original source of the quote was from Jonah Platt, the son of “Snow White” producer Marc Platt and the brother of actor Ben Platt.
Last week, Platt blasted Zegler as “immature” and “narcissistic” after it was revealed his father flew to New York to speak to her after Zegler made political comments online criticizing Donald Trump supporters and supporting Palestine.
“Yeah, my dad, the producer of the 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,” Jonah wrote on Instagram.
At the end of his rant, he included the line that DeBose quoted: “Free speech does not mean you’re allowed to say whatever you want in your private employment without repercussions,” he said. “Narcissism is not something to be coddled or encouraged.”
According to Variety, “Snow White” production execs are blaming Zegler’s political comments on social media for the movie’s poor showing at the box office.
“Snow White” was No. 1 during its debut weekend, but it grossed $87 million worldwide — a meager amount considering its $270 million budget.
DeBose is the latest celeb to speak out about Zegler.
On Sunday, Pedro Pascal, 49, posted a photo of Zegler on his Instagram Stories, tagging her and adding the caption, “icon.” Meanwhile, John Lennon’s son, Sean, slammed Zegler as a “brat.”
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