Steven Spielberg’s new adaptation of Sondheim’s West Side Story is one of the most anticipated films of the end of 2021. A delayed production from COVID-19, West Side Story opens in movie theatres on December 10, 2021.

Despite the excitement and anticipation for the film, the male lead Tony is portrayed by Ansel Elgort, which has stirred up quite a bit of controversy.

You probably recognize Elgort from movies such as The Fault in our Stars and Baby Driver, but we haven’t seen him in a while. Why, you ask? In June of 2020, Elgort was accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl in 2014. According to BBC, he denied these claims and responded by saying “I cannot claim to understand Gabby’s feelings but her description of events is simply not what happened.”

After these allegations, Elgort disappeared from social media and the big screen until now.

The response to Elgort starring in West Side Story was overwhelmingly negative, overshadowing the performance of the rest of the cast, such as Rachel Zegler and Ariana DeBose.