Lin-Manuel Miranda addressed the criticisms of colorism and lack of Afro-Latinx actors in main roles in the movie adaptation of In the Heights in a statement he posted on Twitter, recognizing that the movie came up short in trying to paint a mosaic of the Latinx community.

For some context, the moment the first trailer for the movie adaptation of In the Heights was released, many fans took to social media to question the lack of dark-skinned Afro-Latinx actors in the film. Sure, there were many dark-skinned background dancers, but they are relegated to the background during wide-shot musical scenes, rather than speaking parts. For many, this felt like a shallow representation of Washington Heights, the setting for the musical, which is a predominantly Dominican neighborhood.

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Image via Warner Bros.

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Miranda wrote on Twitter, saying that he’d seen the discussion happening around the movie's problems with representation:

“I can hear the hurt and frustration over colorism, of feeling still unseen in the feedback.

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. I’m truly sorry.”

In an interview with The Root last week, New York City native of Afro-Cuban descent Felice León asked director Jon M. Chu about the film's lack of Afro-Latinx actors, to which the director responded, "We tried to get the people who were best for those roles, specifically." Soon after, actress Melissa Barrera said in the same interview that there were "a lot of darker-skinned people" in the audition process, but ultimately the casting directors were "looking for just the right people for the roles." The only member of the cast to recognize the lack of dark-skinned actors in the film was Leslie Grace who told The Root that she "hope[s] to see my brothers and sisters that are darker than me lead these movies."

With how much of In the Heights was built as a work of love for the Latinx community, and how much it felt for people like me to see their stories on the screen, it is discouraging to see the behind-the-scenes responses to the film's inaccurate representation of the real Washington Heights. Seeing Miranda take a step forward and recognize the mistakes made in the casting is a step in the right direction, but actions speak louder than words.

In the Heights is available in theaters and on HBO Max. You can read Miranda's entire statement below:

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