A Deep Dive Into The Deep Cuts Controversy

The movie adaptation of the book Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley has found itself under controversy this week – and filming hasn’t even started.

The A24 film was set to star Odessa A’zion, Drew Starkey and Cailee Spaeny, but after concerns online, some casting changes have been made.

The controversy came about after the cast’s line up was revealed earlier this week. And while fans of the book were very excited to see who would be playing their beloved characters, they were left with disappointment and frustration after seeing the role Odessa A’zion was cast in.

A’zion, who starred in the recent box office hit film Marty Supreme, was cast as Zoe Gutierrez, who features in the book as a half Mexican and half Jewish love interest and friend to the two main characters in the novel. And many fans had a lot to say online about this casting, and rightly so.

 

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A post shared by Holly Brickley (@hollybrick)

Fans of the novel were quick to comment saying that choosing Odessa to play Zoe Gutierrez, a Mexican woman, was whitewashing, and that they were extremely disappointed to see A’zion take this role.

48 hours after fans had expressed their comments and concerns, Odessa took to her Instagram stories where she issued a 6-page apology and statement, in which she announced that she would be stepping down from the role.

“Guys!! I am with ALL of you and I am NOT doing this movie”, is what Odessa opened the statement with. “Fuck that. I’m OUT… Thank YOU guys for bringing this to my attention. I AGREE WITH EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!

She continued the statement by thanking her followers and fans of the novel for pointing out her mistake, “THIS is why I love you guys. I’m so sorry this happened.”

 

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Odessa also went on to explain how she ended up in this role in the first place – “I went in for Percy, but was offered Zoe instead and instantly said yes! I’m so pissed y’all, I hadn’t read the book and should have paid more attention to all aspects of Zoe before accepting… and now that I know what I know???”

The statement concluded with “I’d never take a role from someone else that’s meant to do it. That SHOULD do it! That’s not me. There are a plentitude of people more than capable of playing this role and I am NOT one of them.”

While Odessa has come under a lot of scrutiny for this mistake, the full onus should not be put on her. After all, it was the casting directors and crew who made this call first.

Some have noticed that many of the team involved in the Oscar nominated Marty Supreme also feature in the production of Deep Cuts. This team includes Josh Safdie, Anthony Kayagas, Ronald Bronstein, and Eli Bush.

@dessasluvrr Odessa last month with Tyler the creator, Timothée chalamet,Josh safdie and Luke manley 🏓 #timothéechalamet #odessaazion #martysupreme ♬ original sound – addiekingg

Fans of the book have also wondered where author Holly Brickley stood in this casting decision. One fan even sent a DM to her on Instagram asking if the character of Zoe would be rewritten.

In reply to the question, Brickley said, “Surely it will be rewritten! Which happens all the time. For the record Zoe is half Mexican and half Jewish. But in the script it is not specified.” Brickley ended the DM by confirming that she was in fact not involved in the casting.

But this issue for fans isn’t just about one miscasting in Hollywood, it’s about yet another instance where Latino roles are given to people who are not part of the Latino community.

Reel Takes on TikTok discussed this topic deeper, as he unpacked this long-standing issue in Hollywood.

@reel.takes Replying to @schmoninator Euphoria star Alexa Demie recently went on record talking about the lack of roles for Latin actors in Hollywood, and this is yet another example. Odessa A’Zion will be playing Zoe Gutierrez in Sean Durkin’s deep cuts, despite the character not being white in the book. I can’t help but think that the Marty Supreme team had something to do with this behind the scenes. #odessaazion #booktok #hollywood #euphoria #alexademie ♬ original sound – Reel Takes

He mentioned that hardly any roles are written for Latin men and women in today’s film and TV industry – and why it’s so damaging that when a Latino role does come up, it is often given to white people that have no connection to the Latino community.

He speaks of Alexa Demi, who plays Maddy in Euphoria, and what she said about this issue when she went on record back in November.

Alexa said she was never booking any roles, and any roles that she went for were all just looking for a blonde, blue-eyed girl. She added that even when she went to audition for the role of Maddy, she had to go in and really prove herself.

Demi said that you rarely see a Latina or mixed girl in a lead role, and because of that casting directors just kept saying no to her. Other than Euphoria, Alexa currently has no other roles booked.

Reel Takes also mentioned the open letter that John Leguizamo wrote back in 2022 to all of Hollywood. In this letter, he said that you see Latinos everywhere in LA, with the Latino population reaching nearly 50%.

Not only that, but the Latino population is larger than the white population in California but again they are not represented accordingly: “The metrics are on our side, but the system is not.”