Actress Rachel Zegler is facing intense backlash over her latest film, Snow White, and now, it seems her West Side Story co-star Ariana DeBose has unintentionally stirred the pot.
On April 1, 2025, DeBose shared a cryptic post on Instagram, quoting a harsh criticism originally made by Jonah Platt, son of producer Marc Platt. In a now-deleted comment, Jonah had slammed Zegler, blaming her alleged narcissistic behavior for the film’s box office flop.
The quote Ariana posted read,
“Narcissism is not something to be coddled or encouraged”.
However, within hours, DeBose swiftly deleted the post after fans flooded the comments, speculating that she was throwing shade at Zegler. Realizing the controversy, she took to her Instagram Story to set the record straight.
Clarifying that she had no idea where the quote originated, DeBose explained,
“I post quotes all the time and thought this one was meaningful. Will fully cop to the fact that I did not do any research on where this quote came from, nor did I know of the connection until it was pointed out to me”.
Ariana DeBose Subtly Denies Feud Rumors With Rachel Zegler
DeBose wrapped up her statement by emphasizing that she had no intention of getting involved in the ongoing drama. She made it clear that her post was meant to be a general reflection on narcissism, not a jab at anyone in particular.
Shutting down speculation, she wrote,
“I have no intention of inserting myself into a news cycle. This is not the first time I’ve posted about dealing with narcissism before and it probably won’t be the last, but next time I’ll be sure to clarify its origins first”.
Earlier, on March 26, 2025, Jonah’s criticism of Rachel stemmed from a now-deleted Instagram exchange where a fan accused his father of being “creepy” for allegedly flying to New York in August 2024 to confront the actress after her pro-Palestine post on X during the film’s promotion.
Defending his father while condemning Rachel, Jonah fired back,
“Yeah, my dad… had to leave his family to fly across the country to reprimand his 20 year old employee for dragging her personal politics into the middle of promoting the movie… This is called adult responsibility and accountability. And her actions clearly hurt the film’s box office… Narcissism is not something to be coddled or encouraged”.
Netizens Question Ariana’s Intentions Behind The Cryptic Post
Despite DeBose’s attempt to clarify her now-deleted post, the online community wasn’t buying it. Social media users remained skeptical, accusing her of shading Rachel on purpose. Some such comments read,
“A bunch of nonsense, like do you even know what narcissism is and how does not describe you all? 😂”
“She’s been shading Rachel for a while. It’s time to move on”.
“She worked with Rachel years ago. This type of behaviour is very weird and not normal. If you don’t like her why are you still talking about her?”
“Are these grown a** people not embarrassed going after Rachel like this? Hollywood loves to stay quiet when the real villains are ruining lives“.
As the controversy swirls, Ariana DeBose’s deleted post has only added fuel to the Rachel Zegler drama. Was it an innocent mistake or a calculated jab?