West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler Addresses Ansel Elgort Sexual Assault Allegations: There’s Been an ‘Awakening’

usmagazine.com:

Speaking out. Nearly two years after Ansel Elgort was accused of sexual assault, his West Side Story costars — including leading lady Rachel Zegler — are opening up about the allegations.“We made a movie two and a half years ago, and a lot has gone on in the world since then,” Zegler, 20, told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published on Wednesday, January 26. “A lot has changed very publicly, and privately as well.

There’s been a lot of awakening.”The Shazam! Fury of the Gods star continued: “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.”In addition to Zegler, who played Maria to the 27-year-old Fault in Our Stars star’s Tony, other West Side Story actresses similarly addressed the scandal during their joint interview.“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,” Ariana DeBose, who played Anita in the 2021 film, told the magazine.Rita Moreno, for her part, noted: “I think it would have been absolutely horrendous and wrong for anyone to take sides in that matter.

It’s not for me to make those judgments.”In June 2020, Elgort was accused of assaulting a woman when she was 17. The alleged victim shared a lengthy Twitter note, detailing the allegations at the time, in which she claimed that when she met up with the Ansolo musician in 2014, “instead of asking me if I wanted to stop having sex knowing it was my first time,” he forced himself on her and “made me think this is how sex was supposed to be.”The Baby Driver actor publicly denied the allegations via social media weeks later, claiming that he was “distressed” by