Broadway playwright and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda said he is “truly sorry” for a lack of Afro-Latino representation in his new film “In The Heights.”
Mr. Miranda, who is of Puerto Rican descent, served as a producer and actor in the film that takes place in Washington Heights, a predominantly Latino neighborhood in New York City. The film is adapted from his 2008 Broadway musical of the same name.
The “Hamilton” creator tweeted an apology Monday after some critics complained he used mostly light-skinned Latino actors in the film’s leading roles.
“I can hear the hurt and frustration over colorism, of feeling still unseen in the feedback,” Mr. Miranda wrote. “I hear that without sufficient dark-skinned Afro-Latino representation, the work feels extractive of the community we wanted so much to represent with pride and joy.
“In trying to paint a mosaic of this community, we fell short,” he continued. “I’m truly sorry. I am learning from the feedback, I thank you for raising it, and I’m listening. I’m trying to hold space for both the incredible pride in the movie we made and be accountable for our shortcomings. Thanks for your honest feedback. I promise to do better in my future projects, and I’m dedicated to the learning and evolving we all have to do to make sure we are honoring our diverse and vibrant community.”
Mr. Miranda’s apology comes after the film’s director, Jon M. Chu, addressed the casting choices in the film during an interview with The Root.
“Listen, we’re not gonna get everything right in a movie, we tried our best on all fronts of it,” Mr. Chu said. “I do think there’s something to be said about sharing in experiences and me never wanting to say I know what I’m doing but to just give room to everybody to speak up about what we’re doing at that moment.”
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