Though Rachel Zegler was in attendance for the 2022 Oscars on Sunday night, she took a moment during the show to poke fun at not being invited to the ceremony in the first place.
When taking the stage with Jacob Elordi to present the award for achievement in visual effects, Elordi began by expressing how surreal it was to be presenting during the ceremony. “Growing up in Australia, I had never thought that I would stand on the stage,” he said before Zegler chimed in with a reference to her last-minute appearance at the show.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
“And I never thought that I would be here six days ago! We did it! Dreams really can come true — pretty fast, too,” she said as the audience laughed.
The Hollywood Reporter had exclusively learned that Zegler had been invited to present during the 94th annual Oscars following the viral controversy following her revelation that she had not been invited to attend the ceremony.
Zegler, who stars as Maria in best picture nominee West Side Story, revealed the surprise snub on Instagram. After a user commented, “Can’t wait to see what you’ll be wearing on Oscar night,” below a series of images she posted, Zegler responded, “I’m not invited so sweatpants and my boyfriend’s flannel.”
Zegler added that she’d attempted to obtain a ticket to the ceremony: “Idk y’all i have tried it all but it doesn’t seem to be happening 🙂 I will root for west side story from my couch and be proud of the work we so tirelessly did 3 years ago.”
Zegler’s reveal quickly went viral, prompting outcry, including from One Day at a Time co-showrunner and With Love creator Gloria Calderón Kellett, who tweeted, “Hey @ABCNetwork You moved the ONE Latine show you have to Hulu and @TheAcademy claims to want to embrace diversity. How about the rare time that Latine people have a movie nominated for an OSCAR you invite the lead. Latine people are 18.5% of this country. ENOUGH!”
In response to the reactions, Zegler took to Twitter to express gratitude for the support: “my goodness, folks!! appreciate all the support, i really really do. we live in such unprecedented times, and a lot of work behind the scenes goes into making movie magic happen. that goes for film productions (like the one I am so lucky to be currently shooting in London)…and awards shows alike. let’s all just respect the process and i’ll get off my phone x R.”
Zegler is currently shooting Marc Webb’s Snow White in London for Disney. After she was asked to be a presenter at the Oscars, she gave thanks to Disney and the film’s producers for working “some real-life magic.” She tweeted, “well folks, i can’t believe i’m saying this but…see you on sunday! the absolutely incredible team at @Disney and our snow white producers worked some real-life magic, and i am thrilled to be able to celebrate my @westsidemovie fam at the oscars.”
The 94th annual Academy Awards are airing live on ABC from the Dolby Theatre. Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes are hosting.
