'not for me to make those judgments'
West Side Story stars address sexual assault allegations against Ansel Elgort
The stars of West Side Story in a new interview have addressed the sexual assault allegations against the film's male lead, Ansel Elgort.
Elgort plays Tony in the new Steven Spielberg musical, and in 2020, a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her when he was 20 and she was 17. The allegations, which Elgort denied, came to light after the film had already been shot. His co-stars Rita Moreno, Ariana DeBose, and Rachel Zegler spoke about the claims in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
"Only the people who were involved in that situation know what actually went down," DeBose said.
Moreno, meanwhile, said it "would have been absolutely horrendous and wrong for anyone to take sides in that matter," adding, "It's not for me to make those judgments." Zegler, who stars opposite Elgort as Maria, also said that "there's been a lot of awakening" since the film was originally shot.
"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," Zegler said.
Elgort wasn't interviewed for the article, but he previously said his relationship with woman who accused him of sexual assault was "brief, legal and entirely consensual." According to the Reporter, Spielberg declined to comment.