West Side Story star Rachel Zegler admonished Americans for not speaking Spanish in response to the controversy over the Steven Spielberg-directed film’s lack of subtitles.
Speaking with reporters on the red carpet of the film’s premiere, Zegler, who plays the titular character Maria, said Spielberg’s decision to eliminate subtitles from the Spanish-speaking scenes was an act of “respect” and an acknowledgment of the fact that English is not the “official language” of the United States.
“It’s respect!” said Zegler. “It is respect. It is respect for my upbringing in a Spanish-speaking household. It is a respect for the fact that this nation does not have an official language.”
Employing a more jocular tone, Zegler then said the lack of subtitles is “respect to the fact that it’s 2021, girl, learn Spanish.”
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Actor David Alvarez, who plays Maria’s brother Bernardo, also appreciated Spielberg’s decision not to include subtitles, though his comments focused less on the political dimension and more on cultural respect and the artistry of the choice.
“I think it’s genius,” said Alvarez. “It shows a sign of respect to the Spanish language. A third of the world speaks Spanish, and I think it’s time for people to be able to respect a language like that. I think it’s also intriguing because it kind of lets the emotions speak for themselves instead of the words. It’s really beautiful, I think.”
Rachel Zegler, whose pronouns are she/her/hers according to her Twitter feed, previously called America a “godforsaken country” in response to the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict.
“Kyle Rittenhouse being acquitted on all charges after such heinous heinous crimes is the epitome of white privilege and exactly what is wrong with this godforsaken country,” she tweeted in November
Speaking with IGN’s Simon Cardy prior to the film’s release last week, Spielberg said that he refused to use subtitles for the Spanish scenes so as to not empower the English language.
“If I subtitled the Spanish I’d simply be doubling down on the English and giving English the power over the Spanish. This was not going to happen in this film, I needed to respect the language enough not to subtitle it,” he said.
Spielberg also said the lack of subtitles occurred “out of respect for the inclusivity of our intentions to hire a totally Latinx cast to play the Sharks’ boys and girls.”
Despite widespread critical acclaim and a robust built-in fanbase for the musical, Spielberg’s remake of the beloved Best Picture-winner has thus far proven to be a box office catastrophe that could cost the studio well over $100 million, earning a meager $15 million globally on its opening weekend, according to Box Office Mojo. Time will tell if West Side Story will be able to recover as we approach the Christmas movie season.