Rachel Zegler should be invited to Oscars, says original West Side Story star: ‘Please do right by her’

Russ Tamblyn, who played gang leader Riff in the 1961 version of West Side Story, has supported Rachel Zegler in her mission to get an invite to the Academy Awards.

Zegler, 20, recently told fans she wouldn’t be attending this year’s Oscars because she wasn’t invited.

The actor played Maria in Steven Spielberg’s film adaptation of the Broadway classic, which was released last year.

The film received a total of seven nominations for the 2022 Oscars, including Best Supporting Actress for Zegler’s co-star Ariana DeBose and Best Direction for Spielberg.

Posting on Instagram, Zegler wrote: “Idk y’all I have tried it all but it doesn’t seem to be happening.

“I hope some last minute miracle occurs and I can celebrate our film in person but hey, that’s how it goes sometimes, I guess. Thanks for all the shock and outrage – I’m disappointed too.”

Taking to Twitter on Monday (21 March), Tamblyn, 87, wrote: “@TheAcademy As a voting member and the original Riff, let me say: it’s your duty to find Rachel a seat at the Oscars.

“She STARS in #Westsidestory which is nominated across the board. When they say representation matters, this is what that means. Please do right by her.”

After Colombian-American star Zegler revealed she hadn’t been invited to the ceremony, the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite began trending, in reference to claims the Academy has a history of “snubbing” Black and Latinx actors.

The Academy gives each movie studio a certain number of tickets to the Oscars, which the studio – in this case Disney – can assign to whoever it chooses.

Individual nominees and presenters are automatically allocated their own tickets to the ceremony.

Disney has not responded to multiple requests for comment from The Independent.