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Rita Moreno released a statement to The Hollywood Reporter commenting on remarks she made Tuesday on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, saying she was “incredibly disappointed” with herself for covering up representation concerns from the Afro-Latino community at Warner Bros. Musical in the heights.
When asked about criticism of In the Heights for the lack of dark-skinned Latinos among its main characters, Moreno, 89, defended film author/producer Lin-Manuel Miranda (who also produced the documentary Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided To Go For It).
‘I’m simply saying,’ said Moreno, ‘couldn’t you just wait a bit and leave him alone?’
The remarks sparked a backlash on social media for being an insensitive reaction to the Afro-Latino population; Even Moreno was trending on Twitter on Wednesday as a result of the controversy.
Shortly after landing in Los Angeles from a flight from New York, Moreno issued this statement:
“I’m incredibly frustrated with myself. While making a statement in defense of Lin-Manuel Miranda on The Colbert Show last night, I was clearly rejecting the black lives that matter to our Latino community. It’s all too easy to forget how heartbreaking for some the celebration is for others. Plus Paying tribute to Lin for his fine movie version of In the Heights, let me add my appreciation for his sensitivity and determination to be more inclusive of the Afro-Latino community in the future. Look, you can teach this old dog new tricks.”
Moreno then serves as executive producer on Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story, in which she also plays Valentina. Some criticism on Twitter suggested that she was darkened with makeup to play Anita in the 1961 film version of the Broadway musical for which she won an Academy Award. Moreno previously said she resented being dark because of the part, adding, “It wasn’t my color.”
In January of 2019, Spielberg met with a town hall of Puerto Rican locals to discuss how he handled the material; Some attendees wondered if West Side Story might have taken a culturally insensitive and dated approach to Puerto Rican culture.
The film, from Disney-owned 20th Century Studios with an updated screenplay by Tony Kushner, begins December 21.
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