Odessa A'zion drops out of Latina 'Deep Cuts' role following backlash

['Staff Writer', 'Andrea Flores Is A Reporter With De Los Covering The Many Contours Of Latinidad For The Los Angeles Times. She Has Both Her Bachelor S', 'Master S Degrees Stanford University', 'Is Originally Waukegan'] News from California, across the nation and world - Los Angeles Times 2026-01-29 00:00:00

Odessa A’zion has dropped her role as Zoe Gutierrez in Sean Durkin’s “Deep Cuts” following online backlash over the actor not being Latina. One A’zion fan account on X, created in October 2025 and managed by two Latinas from Brazil, paused their activity until further notice following the news. I’m OUT.”AdvertisementIn her follow-up posts, A’Zion said she originally auditioned for the role of Percy, but was offered Zoe instead; she accepted the role. At that moment, A’zion had not yet read the book and admits she should have paid more attention to all aspects of the character Zoe. “So in 2026 if there are 1000 roles out there for actors and 50 of those are written for Latinos, LATINOS should play them,” Barrera wrote.