The Juliets are closing ranks against Marvel stans. Broadway’s current Juliet, Rachel Zegler, decried the racist treatment of recent West End Juliet Francesca Amewudah-Rivers in an October 22 Teen Vogue interview. “I think she was failed by the people around her,†Zegler said. “You need to protect people when you make a vow to cast them in something where you know — you can’t act stupid, you know how the general public is going to act because they’ve been acting that way for years.†Amewudah-Rivers, who played Juliet opposite Tom Holland earlier this year in a Jamie Lloyd–directed Romeo and Juliet production, faced racist attacks online even before the show went up. “Following the announcement of our Romeo & Juliet cast, there has been a barrage of deplorable racial abuse online directed toward a member of our company,â€Â a statement from The Jamie Lloyd Company read. “This must stop.†No cast or crew responded publicly, including Tom Holland, famously in a relationship with Zendaya.
Zegler, however, did tweet in support of Amewudah-Rivers at the time. “i CANNOT wait to see this production!†she wrote. “GO FRANCESCA!!!!!!!!†While Amewudah-Rivers was “thankful†in a call, Zegler added “it took absolutely nothing out of me, and I told her not to thank me for that.†“It is basic human decency and basic kindness,†she continued. Ahead of the show’s premiere, 800 Black performers signed a letter of solidarity condemning racial abuse. “Too many times Black performers — particularly Black actresses — are left to face the storm of online abuse after committing the crime of getting a job on their own,†the letter said. Zegler echoes that to Teen Vogue: “You need to fucking say something. You need to move quickly and make sure that she is protected.â€