Ariana DeBose on the good and the bad of acting plus ‘House of Spoils’
Ariana DeBose explains to USA TODAY’s Ralphie Aversa why she took her lead role in the new film “House of Spoils” seriously, both on and off set.
Ariana DeBose isn’t trying to get involved in the “Snow White” drama.
The Oscar-winning actress raised eyebrows Tuesday by posting a quote on Instagram about narcissism, which came from an online rant against her former “West Side Story” co-star Rachel Zegler. DeBose has since deleted the post and said she was not aware of who the quote was about.
“I post quotes all the time and thought this one was meaningful,” she said in an Instagram story Tuesday. “Will fully cop to the fact I did not do any research on where this quote came from, nor did I know of the connection until it was pointed out to me.”
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for DeBose.
DeBose’s original post showed a bouquet of flowers along with the phrase, “Narcissism is not something to be coddled or encouraged.”
The actress also shared this quote on her Instagram story. She didn’t attribute the quote to a source, but fans recognized it as coming from a recent rant slamming Zegler.
In a since-deleted Instagram comment last week, Jonah Platt, son of “Snow White” producer Marc Platt, blamed Zegler for the Disney live-action remake underperforming at the box office. Platt criticized the actress for “dragging her personal politics into the middle of promoting the movie,” arguing “her actions clearly hurt the film’s box office.”
After sharing the “Snow White” trailer last year, the actress posted on X, “free Palestine.” She also wrote after the November presidential election that she hopes President Donald Trump and his supporters “never know peace.” She later deleted the post about Trump and apologized.
Platt went on to add, “Tens of thousands of people worked on that film and she hijacked the conversation for her own immature desires at the risk of all the colleagues and crew and blue-collar workers who depend on that movie to be successful. Narcissism is not something to be coddled or encouraged.”
After DeBose quoted part of this comment from Platt, fans assumed she was throwing shade at Zegler, with one X user expressing surprise that she was “coming out against” her former co-star.
DeBose did not acknowledge where the quote came from after deleting the post, but she said she had “no intention of inserting myself into a news cycle.”
“This is not the first time I’ve posted about dealing with narcissism and it probably won’t be the last, but next time I’ll be sure to clarify its origins first,” she wrote in an Instagram story.
DeBose won the best supporting actress Oscar for her role as Anita in 2021’s “West Side Story,” which also starred Zegler as Maria.
“Snow White” has thus far performed under expectations at the box office after facing a variety of controversies leading up to its release.
Since Platt’s comments last week, some fans have defended Zegler and argued that her social media activity was not a factor in the movie’s box office performance. In an Instagram story on Sunday, “The Last of Us” star Pedro Pascal simply posted a photo of the actress and labeled her an “icon.”
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