Rachel Zegler and Ariana DeBose ADDRESS West Side Story co-star Ansel Elgort’s sexual assault allegations

*Trigger Warning: This article includes references to sexual assault*

A month after the release of West Side Story, the film’s lead stars Rachel Zegler and Ariana DeBose weighed in on their co-star Ansel Elgort’s sexual assault allegations which the actor denied in 2020. During their recent interaction with The Hollywood Reporter, the actresses spoke about Elgort’s allegations for the first time. While talking about the same, Rita Moreno maintained that she would not make any judgements about Elgort. 

The film’s breakout star, Ariana DeBose while talking about Ansel’s allegations said, “Nobody really knows what’s going on in anyone’s head. Only the people who were involved in that situation know what actually went down.” As for Zegler who romanced Ansel in the film where he essayed the lead role of Tony, the actress maintained that it’s been a long time since they shot the film. 

Zegler added, “We made a movie two and a half years ago, and a lot has gone on in the world since then,” she said. “A lot has changed very publicly, and privately as well. There’s been a lot of awakening. You just hope that the people involved are OK, that they are asked in a respectful manner and that they are given the opportunity to answer for themselves”, via The Hollywood Reporter. 

A Twitter user in 2020 accused Elgort of sexually assaulting her when she was 17. The allegations were soon denied by Ansel in a now-deleted Instagram post where he maintained that he would never assault anyone and stated that he had a consensual relationship with the accuser. 

ALSO READ: Rachel Zegler recalls having lengthy audition process for West Side Story, admits it was a ‘dream come true’

(If you know someone who is struggling with abuse, please reach out and report about it. There are several helplines available for the same.)