Moreno defends Miranda – now she’s the one apologizing
Screen icon Rita Moreno has walked back her “dismissive” stance on the colorism controversy surrounding “In the Heights” after her recent late-night interview ignited a swift backlash.
Fewer than 24 hours after the actor staunchly defended “In the Heights” producer Lin-Manuel Miranda against criticism for failing to cast AfroLatinx talent in lead roles, Moreno apologized Wednesday on social media for her “Late Show” remarks.
“I’m incredibly disappointed with myself,” Moreno, 89, tweeted. “While making a statement in defense of Lin-Manuel Miranda on the Colbert Show last night, I was clearly dismissive of Black lives that matter in our Latin community. It is so easy to forget how celebration for some is lament for others.”
The Oscar winner’s apology comes a few days after Miranda publicly admitted that director Jon M. Chu’s film adaptation of his breakout Broadway musical “fell short” in terms of representing the AfroLatinx residents of New York City’s Washington Heights.
When Stephen Colbert asked Moreno earlier this week about the ongoing discourse regarding a lack of Afro-Latinx representation in the movie musical, Moreno wished Miranda’s critics would “wait a while and leave it alone.”
“You can never do it right, it seems,” she said, later adding, “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.”