'West Side Story’ actors address costar Ansel Elgort's sex assault claims

Stars of Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake have finally addressed allegations of sexual misconduct made against their co-star Ansel Elgort back in 2020.

Actors Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, and Rita Moreno were confronted about the accusations in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, during which Zegler highlighted that the film was made before the allegations.

“We made a movie two and a half years ago, and a lot has gone on in the world since then,” said Zegler.

She added, “A lot has changed very publicly, and privately as well. There’s been a lot of awakening.”

Elgort was accused in June 2020, a year and a half prior to the release of West Side Story in December 2021, by a woman named Gabby who claimed that he assaulted her six years ago.

Zegler went on to comment, “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.”

DeBose also chimed in saying, “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.”

Meanwhile, Moreno said, “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.”

As for Elgort himself, he was largely left out of the film’s trailers and attended press tours with the whole cast to avoid direct questions from interviewers.