Rita Morenosays she is “disappointed” in herself for being “dismissive” of the Black Latinx community while she was defendingLin-Manuel Miranda, who has recently faced criticism for colorism in the film adaptation of his Tony-winning musical,In the Heights.
“I’m incredibly disappointed with myself. While making a statement in defense ofLin-Manuel Mirandaon the Colbert Show last night, I was clearly dismissive of Black lives that matter in our Latin community,” Moreno said. “It is so easy to forget how celebration for some is lament for others.”
Rita Moreno.
“In addition to applauding Lin for his wonderful movie version ofIn The Heights, let me add my appreciation for his sensitivity and resolve to be more inclusive of the Afro-Latino community going forward,” the Oscar winner continued.
Moreno concluded her statement, “See, you CAN teach this old dog new tricks - RITA.”
On Tuesday, Moreno had lamented over thecolorism criticism Miranda, 41, was experiencing.
“You can never do right, it seems,” she told Colbert, 57. “This is the man who literally has brought Latino-ness and Puerto Rican-ness to America. I couldn’t do it. I would love to say I did, but I couldn’t. Lin-Manuel has done that really singlehandedly and I’m thrilled to pieces, and I’m proud that heproduced my documentary[Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It].”
“There’s a lot of people who are Puertorriqueño, who are also from Guatemala, who are dark and who are also fair. We are all colors in Puerto Rico,” Moreno said. “This is how it is, and it would be so nice if they hadn’t come up with that and left it alone, just for now. I mean, they’re really attacking the wrong person.”
Rita Moreno and Lin-Manuel Miranda.Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney
Miranda — who produced and stars inIn the Heights— posted an apology Monday after the film’s directorJon M. Chuand cast membersMelissa BarreraandLeslie Gracewere asked about the colorism and casting choices within the film in an interview.
“I started writingIn The Heightsbecause I didn’t feel seen. And over the past 20 years all I wanted was for us - ALL of us - to feel seen,” he wrotein a statement shared on Twitter. “I’m seeing the discussion around Afro-Latino representation in our film this weekend and it is clear that many in our dark-skinned Afro-Latino community don’t feel sufficiently represented within it, particularly among the leading roles.”
“I can hear the hurt and frustration over colorism, of feeling unseen in the feedback. I hear that without sufficient dark-skinned Afro-Latino representation, the work feels extractive of the community we wanted so much to represent with pride and joy.”
“In trying to paint a mosaic of this community, we fell short,” theHamiltonstar continued. “I’m truly sorry. I’m learning from the feedback, I thank you for raising it, and I’m listening.”
“I’m trying to hold space for both the incredible pride in the movie we made and be accountable for our shortcomings,” Miranda concluded. “Thanks for your honest feedback. I promise to do better in my future projects, and I’m dedicated to the learning and evolving we all have to do to make sure we are honoring our diverse and vibrant community.”
Macall Polay
The director said that it was something that had been discussed and that he “needed to be educated about, of course.”
“In the end, when we were looking at the cast, we were trying to get the people who were best for those roles and that specifically, and we saw a lot of people, people like Daphne [Rubin-Vega], orDascha [Polanco],” he said.
Chu added, “But I hear you on trying to fill those cast members with darker-skinned [actors]. I think that’s a really good conversation to have, something that we should all be talking about.”
In The Heightsis now playing in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.
source: people.com
