{"id":448893,"date":"2026-01-31T05:21:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T05:21:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/448893\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T05:21:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T05:21:10","slug":"latino-stars-demand-answers-after-movie-whitewashing-controversy-that-led-to-actress-quitting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/448893\/","title":{"rendered":"Latino stars demand answers after movie whitewashing controversy that led to actress quitting"},"content":{"rendered":"

John Leguizamo<\/a>, Jessica Alba<\/a>, and Eva Longoria<\/a>, are among the more than 100 Latino creatives who have signed an open letter to Hollywood calling for more \u201caccountability, intentionality, and equity in casting and storytelling.\u201d<\/p>\n

The letter, published Thursday, asks that casting directors, creative executives, writers, producers, and other higher-ups increase the number of Latino voices in the development and greenlighting stages, as well as the number of Latino actors attending auditions and being offered non-stereotypical lead roles. Deadline<\/a> was the first to report the news.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe write to you with urgency, because storytelling is humanity\u2019s compass and Hollywood wields all the power,\u201d the letter said. \u201cThe stories you choose to tell, and how you tell them, shape public perception, cultural understanding, and who gets to see themselves reflected on screen. In these challenging moments that power comes with real responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"OdessaOdessa A’zion at the 2026 Golden Globes <\/p>\n

Christopher Polk\/Getty<\/p>\n

The letter was released just one day after Marty Supreme actress Odessa A\u2019zion dropped out of A24\u2019s upcoming romantic drama <\/a>Deep Cuts<\/a> following online backlash to her casting. The Actor Awards nominee was set to play a half-Mexican, half-Jewish character named Zoe Gutierrez in the Sean Durkin-directed film, which is adapted from Holly Brickley\u2019s 2025 novel of the same name.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cRecent casting decisions around the character Zoe Gutierrez in A24\u2019s\u00a0Deep Cuts\u00a0have exposed a troubling pattern,\u201d the letter noted. \u201cWe acknowledge and commend Odessa A\u2019zion for listening, reflecting and deciding to exit the project and become an ally. Yet how did this happen?\u201d<\/p>\n

It continued, \u201cThe absence of Latina audition opportunities, and the choice to replace a clearly Latina character with a non-Latina actress, signals a broader, ongoing erasure of our community from the stories that define our culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, the letter acknowledged that the problem is \u201cnot about any one actor or project,\u201d but rather \u201cabout a system that repeatedly overlooks qualified Latino talent even as our identities, histories, and experiences fuel the most enduring stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLatino communities are already underrepresented and misrepresented in ways that distort reality and harm real people,\u201d it added. \u201cCasting decisions carry real weight: they influence who is seen as worthy of authentic storytelling and who gets to tell those stories with care, nuance, and authority.\u201d<\/p>\n

Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with\u00a0our\u00a0EW Dispatch newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s why all of the creatives who signed their names are demanding more accountability and representation in the casting and storytelling process.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAuthentic representation means more than casting a performer who looks like the character; it means involving the communities being portrayed not just in front of the camera, but in the decisions that shape these stories from their inception,\u201d it read. \u201cOur stories deserve to be shaped with the input, guidance, and leadership of Latino creators, consultants, writers, and performers at every stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe cover of Holly Brickley’s novel ‘Deep Cuts’ <\/p>\n

Crown<\/p>\n

Their list of demands includes that Hollywood \u201caudition and hire more Latino actors for a diverse range of roles,\u201d hire Latino executives, involve more Latino voices throughout the development process, and create mentoring and scholarship pipelines that will \u201cexpand access\u201d across all levels of the entertainment industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe world is watching,\u201d the letter concluded.<\/p>\n

Besides Leguizamo, Alba, and Longoria, the letter was signed by such stars as Marvel actors Danny Ramirez and Xochitl Gomez, as well as Jane the Virgin alum Gina Rodriguez and Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Stephanie Beatriz.<\/p>\n

A\u2019zion announced that she would be exiting Deep Cuts on her Instagram Story on Wednesday, claiming that she\u2019d originally auditioned for a different role and was offered Zoe instead.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so so sorry that this happened. It is SO important for me to let you in on how it all went down,” she wrote. “I went in for Percy, but was offered Zoe instead and instantly said yes! I\u2019m so pissed y\u2019all, I hadn\u2019t read the book and should have paid more attention to all aspects of Zoe before accepting\u2026 and now that I know what I know??? F— that! IM OUT.”<\/p>\n

Directed by Durkin, Deep Cuts follows the complicated relationship between music critic Percy (Cailee Spaeny) and songwriter Joe (Drew Starkey). A release date has yet to be announced.<\/p>\n

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"John Leguizamo, Jessica Alba, and Eva Longoria, are among the more than 100 Latino creatives who have signed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448894,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,232223,447,232226,134,38090,232227,45523,47170,232225,52396,232224],"class_list":["post-448893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-casting-directors","tag-celebrities","tag-deep-cuts","tag-entertainment","tag-eva-longoria","tag-holly-brickley","tag-jessica-alba","tag-john-leguizamo","tag-latino-actors","tag-marty-supreme","tag-zoe-gutierrez"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448893\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/448894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}