West Side Story actress Rachel Zegler is in hot water for a video she posted to Twitter recently, in which she performs a dramatic reading of Britney Spears‘ tweets to her estranged sister, Jamie Lynn Spears. The video has since been wiped from Zegler’s social media, but it can still be found in tweets criticizing the act.
One user wrote, “I’m sorry but if you’re still making fun of Britney Spears in 2022 you’re a piece of s–t. Grow up.” Another commented, “Rachel Zegler — people aren’t all of a sudden not liking her just bc it’s trendy. She took someone’s trauma & did a weird ass monologue for her own pleasure.”
Fans are also criticizing Zegler for her close relationship with West Side Story costar Ansel Elgort, who was accused of sexual assault last year. “Can’t expect much from someone who removed ‘believe survivors’ from their social media bio bc they were hanging out with people accused of sexual abuse…,” one person wrote.
In response to the criticism, Zegler issued an apology to Spears on Twitter Monday (January 17th). “Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Britney and am rooting for her always. While I meant no disrespect whatsoever, I should have thought about how this could be perceived, and I’m so sorry for upsetting or disappointing anyone,” she wrote.