Actress Odessa A’zion has exited A24’s upcoming film Deep Cuts after online backlash erupted over her casting.
Fans of Holly Brickley’s novel accused the project of whitewashing a Latina character, prompting widespread outrage across social media—including some pointed tweets from A'zion's X fan account.
After learning more about the character’s original background, A’zion took to Instagram to publicly agree with these concerns and announced she would no longer be involved in the film. Still, some folks noticed discrepancies in her explanation, questioning whether she'd actually read the book or not.
According to TheWrap, the story follows "two music-obsessed twenty-somethings navigating the messy realities of ambition, belonging and adulthood over the course of an era-defining decade."
Why fans were upset at "Deep Cuts" Odessa A'zion casting
The film is adapted from Holly Brickley’s novel of the same name, set in the early 2000s music scene. In it, A’zion’s character, Zoe Gutierrez, is half-Jewish and half-Mexican.
Although Brickley said she had no involvement in casting, and the script reportedly no longer specified Zoe’s ethnicity, people were quick to criticize the casting choice.
Many accused the film of whitewashing Zoe's character, arguing that Hollywood once again pushed aside Latina actresses who would have been perfect for the role.
Meanwhile, several users questioned why a white actress was cast in the role at all.
On X, @allurequinn wrote, "sorry but why do they have a white girl with a fake tan playing a latina."
Criticism escalated quickly across platforms. @taydutchess tweeted, "odessa zion adlon being cast to play zoe GUTTIEREZ … and ppl said we were tripping when we side-eyed her sudden attempt at racial ambiguity."
Still, others tied the issue to the current political climate in the U.S. @NerdeenKiswani pointed out, "Also while Mexican children are being detained deported and essentially tortured in detention. They’ll kill you and then play you in movies."
"They tried to tell y'all the latisha wig was a dogwhistle and y'all didn't listen. now she stealin brown roles," added @R0SYLNS.
Fan account Odessa A’zion Daily posted that they did not support the casting, adding, "This choice perpetuates harmful patterns and representations affecting Latinos of all nationalities, particularly within the current political climate in the United States. In light of this, we will be pausing activity on this account until further notice."
A’zion addressed the backlash and exited the film
After learning about Zoe’s original heritage, A’zion posted a series of late-night Instagram Stories making her stance clear. "Guys!! I am with ALL of you and I am NOT doing this movie. f*ck that. I’m OUT," she wrote.
She thanked followers for flagging the issue, saying, "I AGREE WITH EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!" She then explained she had originally auditioned for a different character and had not read the book yet. Because of that, she said she missed key context. Once she learned more, her decision was firm.
"I’d never take a role from someone else that’s meant to do it," she wrote. Later, she added that many people were "more than capable" of playing Zoe.
A’zion admitted she had focused on other parts of the script. However, she said she could not continue after understanding the character’s background. She ended her posts with gratitude, telling fans, "THANK YOU GUYS FOR LETTING ME KNOW!!!"
Still, not everyone is buying it. @starkeyslover pointed out how A'zion had written that she "loved the story," and was "trying to carve out time to re read," but later wrote, "I hadn't read the book."
"Acting like it was an oopsie daisy girl bye," wrote @joemorrows.
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