“SO excited to be a part of this special project with such special people,” Ariela Barer wrote on Instagram.

Deep Cuts recasts Odessa A’zion role after whitewashing controversy

"SO excited to be a part of this special project with such special people," Ariela Barer wrote on Instagram.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

EW's editorial guidelines

February 10, 2026 3:41 p.m. ET

Odessa A'zion; Ariela Barer. Credit:

Emma McIntyre/WireImage; Jamie McCarthy/Getty

- Ariela Barer has been cast in *Deep Cuts*.

- She will play Zoe Gutierrez, a character who is Latina and Jewish and was previously set to be played by *Marty Supreme* star Odessa A'zion.

- A'zion, who is not Latina, voluntarily left the project after online backlash informed her of the character's heritage.

*Deep Cuts* has found a new actress to replace Odessa A'zion.

Ariela Barer, who portrayed Mel in season 2 of *The Last of Us*, will play Zoe Gutierrez in the A24-produced adaptation of Holly Buckley's novel.

"SO excited to be a part of this special project with such special people <3," Barer wrote in an Instagram Story on Tuesday.

"And a genuine major shoutout to @odessaazion for always leading with integrity and being an absolute real one for as long as I've known her <3," she wrote in a separate post. (The two actresses costarred in the 2018 independent thriller *Ladyworld*.)

Ariela Barer in Park City, Utah, on Jan. 27, 2026.

Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Barer previously starred in *How to Blow Up a Pipeline* and Marvel's *Runaways*. She has also appeared on shows like *Grey's Anatomy*, *Saved by the Bell*, and *Atypical*.

A'zion's initial casting as Zoe caused online backlash because Buckley's book describes the character as being Jewish and Latina, but the *Marty Supreme *actress is Jewish with no Latina heritage. Barer, on the other hand, is both Mexican American and Jewish.

A'zion voluntarily withdrew from the project after learning that her character was supposed to be Latina — a detail that she did not know until social media users pointed it out to her.

"Guys!! I am with ALL of you and I am NOT doing this movie. F--- that. I’m OUT," A'zion wrote on Instagram on Jan. 28. "THANK YOU guys for bringing this to my attention. I AGREE WITH EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU! This is why I love you guys. I’m so so sorry that this happened. It is SO important for me to let you in on how it all went down."

Odessa A'zion 'Deep Cuts' controversy explained: Why the 'Marty Supreme' star dropped the A24 project

'It always starts with the face': Building the 'Marty Supreme' ensemble cast, from pros to newbies

A'zion said that she originally auditioned to play a character named Percy, but was offered Zoe instead. "[I] instantly said yes!" the *I Love LA *actress said. "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??? F--- that! IM OUT."

Odessa A'zion at the 2026 Golden Globes.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

*Deep Cuts* is a romance set in the 2000s "about two music-obsessed twenty-somethings navigating the messy realities of ambition, belonging and adulthood over the course of an era-defining decade," according to an official logline.

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Cailee Spaeny and Drew Starkey will also star in the film, which will be written and directed by Sean Durkin (*The Iron Claw*, *The Nest*). Josh Safdie, Ronald Bronstein, Eli Bush, and Anthony Katagas — who are all currently Oscar-nominated for producing Best Picture nominee *Marty Supreme* — will produce the film alongside Jordan Tapis, Durkin, and A24.

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