JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
Rachel Zegler on being asked about Ansel Elgort sexual assault allegations: It was a real gut punch
Rachel Zegler opens up about how her press tour for West Side Story was often overtaken by questions regarding Ansel Elgort’s sexual assault.
*Trigger Warning: This article includes references to sexual assault*
Rachel Zegler told Elle magazine that her press tour for West Side Story was often overshadowed by queries about Ansel Elgort's alleged sexual assault. In June 2020, Elgort was charged with sexually abusing a 17-year-old girl in 2014.
At the time, the actor reacted by declaring he "never and would never assault anyone" and that he had a "brief, legal, and entirely consensual relationship" with his accuser. However, Zegler, 20, and Elgort, 28, portrayed the love leads in the reinvention of the film musical, which eventually entered cinemas in December after production was completed in the autumn of 2019 and the theatrical release was delayed due to the pandemic. Now, Zegler recalled in an interview with ELLE about having to respond to queries concerning allegations levelled against Elgort. “It was a real gut punch, honestly,” Zegler said of always being asked to answer for Elgort’s alleged behaviour.
She further said, as per PEOPLE, “I reverted back to this brain space I was in [back in] June of 2020 when the accusation surfaced. We were in the middle of the first wave of lockdown, and there was nothing to do but doom-scroll." Zegler never fought the press for asking Elgort questions at the time, but she did tell Elle that she was distraught behind the scenes and added, “[There is] inherent discomfort that comes with that realization that there are tons of people who think that you have to answer for the actions of an adult male who can speak for himself.”
Meanwhile, on the other hand, Zegler's next projects include Warner Bros.' comic book sequel Shazam: Fury of the Gods and Disney's live-action Snow White adaptation.
