West Side Story star Rachel Zegler is speaking out about the questions she was asked regarding allegations against her costar Ansel Elgort, with Zegler saying that it was “wildly disappointing” that she was expected to answer for him. In an interview with Elle, Zegler spoke about how uncomfortable it was for her to realize that people expected her to answer for “the actions of an adult male who can speak for himself”
“[There is] inherent discomfort that comes with the realization that there are tons of people who think that you have to answer for the actions of an adult male who can speak for himself,” Zegler said. “It is so wildly disappointing at every turn, no matter how you slice it. No matter how many times I’ve tried to justify people’s concern when it comes to me in my brain, but then realizing that it comes from a place of me having to answer for that, and not them actually caring about whether or not I was okay, was really hurtful. And also paying no mind when it came to the conversation between myself and these other incredible women in my cast, without any thought process to our experiences as women in the industry who constantly find ourselves in close encounters with men in power, and a very iconic woman in Hollywood who has spoken about her experience with sexual assault. In the grand scheme of things with this woman who has come forward with these allegations, I cannot imagine what she had to go through. If I’m sitting here thinking that those days were traumatizing for me, I don’t pretend to know. I could never know.”
Videos by ComicBook.com
She added, “I really don’t have anything to do with this conversation, and I’m looking forward to moving past it.”
In June 2020, Elgort was accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl in 2014, when the actor was 20. Elgort denied the allegations and stated that his relationship with the girl was “brief, legal, and entirely consensual”. Elgort’s role in West Side Story had been filmed prior to the allegations being made public. Elgort also participated in group interviews for the film.
As for Zegler, she will star in the upcoming Shazam! Fury of the Gods alongside Zachary Levi as Shazam!, Grace Fulton as Mary Bromfield, Adam Brody as Super Hero Freddy, Faithe Herman as Darla Dudley, Meagan Good as Super Hero Darla, Ian Chen as Eugene Choi, Ross Butler as Super Hero Eugene, Jovan Armand as Pedro Pena, D.J. Cotrona as Super Hero Pedro, Marta Milans as Rosa Vasquez, and Cooper Andrews as Victor Vasquez. New cast members also include Helen Mirren as Hespera and Lucy Liu as Kalypso.
