Camila Cabello will turn down Steven Spielberg if he offers her ‘West Side Story’

Meg Ryan and John Mellencamp take a romantic stroll in NYC

Camila Cabello is a big deal. Even though I’m old and I don’t know ALL of the “big deals” with the kids these days, I know Camila is happening. She grew her fanbase when she dumped Fifth Harmony and suddenly became close friends with Taylor Swift (she’s the opening act for Tay’s Reputation Tour). She’s had at least one major hit song. She’s big on social media. People just go crazy for her, and I tend to think corporations probably want to give her lots of sponsorships. The world is hers for the taking. And I think I’m fine with it? I’ve never really heard anything about her that made me go “Ugh, Camila is the worst.” If anything, I just don’t understand why the kids are SO crazy for her, given her somewhat limited portfolio. But whatever, here she is on the cover of Marie Claire’s Holiday Issue. This is one of the worst editorials I’ve ever seen – blurry photos, barely one clear, in-focus shot of her full face. Ugh. You can read the full Marie Claire piece here. Some highlights:

Her doctor ordered her to chill: “I realized if I don’t take days off, I will actually die. Or collapse, so I’m trying not to go too crazy for the rest of the tour.”It’s hard, though. I’m at this point in my life when I’m so happy—it’s hard to say no.”

Disney was huge for her as a kid: “My friends and I all wanted to be on the Disney Channel growing up. We all wanted to be singers.”

Her stage fright: In order to understand Cabello properly, you have to understand, first of all, that she is very shy—and also that she is a natural exhibitionist. Cabello loves nothing more than the idea of baring her soul, of sharing her deepest secrets with the world, but she also hates the idea of doing it in front of anyone she actually knows. “I had intense performance anxiety as a kid…I’m an introvert. I love any activity where I can observe and not necessarily be a part of it.”

The two sides of her personality: “Basically, there’s the me that I really am, on the inside, which is the nerdy one—the kind of introverted, shy one—and then there’s the sexy, overly confident one, doing great dance moves and being super sassy.”

On being vulnerable: “I’ve challenged myself to be vulnerable and to not have a script of what you’re going to say.”

On what the success of her debut single, Havana, taught her: “You just have to trust yourself. I’m never going to be like, ‘This is a huge song.’ But I really liked it, and that’s what matters.”

On her boyfriend, British relationship coach Matthew Hussey: “He’s so similar to me. In person, we’re just weird and silly and stupid together. He makes me the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.”

On rumors she’s will star as Maria in Steven Spielberg’s upcoming West Side Story: “I don’t think so… I know exactly who I am, and I know what I want to do. I’m just not ready to give up that voice for something else right now.”

[From Marie Claire]

LOL imagine Steven Spielberg coming to you and offering you a role and you say “nah, I got other things on my plate.” Granted, I think a Spielberg-directed remake of West Side Story sounds unnecessary too, and I’m not wild about casting a Cuban-American woman in a role meant for a Puerto Rican woman (that’s, like, the whole f–king point of the musical). But if Spielberg offers you something, you still take it. HE IS STEVEN SPIELBERG. As for the rest of it… I actually didn’t know she was dating a “British relationship coach,” so… that’s interesting. And I think all of these Gen Zers love to label themselves with “introvert” or “exhibitionist” or whatever. They spend too much time labeling themselves. *shakes fist at labeled children*

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Photos courtesy of Sofia Sanchez and Mauro Mongiello for Marie Claire, sent from promotional email.

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30 Responses to “Camila Cabello will turn down Steven Spielberg if he offers her ‘West Side Story’”

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  1. me says:

    Yeah well most people just see us “brown people” as all the same. I mean is it ok for a Cuban to play a Puerto Rican? I don’t think so. I also didn’t like Remi Malik playing Freddy Mercury. Remi is Egyptian (he IS very talented though). Freddie came from mixed/Indian heritage. But I guess we’re all the same to some.

    • Meeee says:

      Camila is actually Cuban/Mexican and immigrated to the U.S. when she was 5. She only recently became a citizen of the U.S. But, anyway, I agree that a lot of people just see us LatinXs as the same.
      Btw, I didn’t like JLo playing Selena.

    • JeanGrey says:

      I’m PR and it honestly doesn’t bother me if a Cuban plays a PR role. Somos todos Latinos, and we could all use the visibility, tbh. At least they speak the language and it’s not as insulting as Al Pacino playing a PR (Carlito’s Way) or Cuban (Scarface) with a horribly dreadful Spanish accent.

      I just have a problem with Camila playing anyone in this movie. Her voice is mediocre at best and I don’t really care for her. Can she even act? Naya Rivera isn’t PR either but I can totally see her as Anita, even though no one out there today can touch Rita Moreno, lets be real. But Naya can at least sing, dance and act. I used to think J Lo would have been good for the Anita part in her younger years cuz she can at least act and dance. I was also thinking maybe Gina Rodriguez (who actually happens to be Boricua) as Maria, but she may be too old for the role by a little bit.

      I’m glad Spielberg got Rita on board in some capacity, even though I have mixed feeling on a remake, considering the OG is such a classic. I would hope that maybe he can get Lin Manuel, in there somewhere as well.

      • me says:

        Thanks for sharing. It’s ok to not agree on things. Yes, at least Latinos would be getting some visibility, but it’s still important not to lump all Latinos in to one group or all brown people into one group really.

    • elephant says:

      His name is also Rami Malek, not Remi Malik.

    • Melomelo says:

      As a puerto Rican, I dont mind a Cuban playing a Puerto Rican. I mean, it would be awesome if a boricua got to play that part, but Cubans and Dominicans are our brothers and sisters and for the most part we share the same heritage.

    • Nicole83 says:

      Freddie Mercury and his family lived in India but both his parents were Persian zoroastrocists – they all fled Iran when Islamists were persecuting them. I don’t know any other celebrity of this heritage so it would be difficult to cast accurately…

  2. Ann says:

    Those pictures are awful! I barely know who this chick is and that one where she is behind the bushes she looks like 4 different people. I thought it was Emma Watson. LOL at turning down Steven Spielberg. Way to guarantee you’ll never get an offer from him now. I’m not feeling her. I’ve read similar stuff from many other woman over the years. I’m not seeing anything special here.

  3. Chingona says:

    I guess I am old too because I could not for the life of me understand why her song “Havana” was so huge. It was reptative and she has a very weak voice. She also isn’t that great of a dancer.

    • holly hobby says:

      I know! I heard her on the radio and I couldn’t figure out who she was (voice not distinctive like Mariah, Whitney Celine). When the DJ said it was her I was like boy she sounds like a computer generated robot. No range at all! They might as well dub her too like they did Natalie.

      On the other hand, no one can replace George Chakiris! He was fine in the original!

    • Rhys says:

      It’s just catchy. There are songs like that in every decade – nobody knows what they are popular, but everybody remembers the tune.

  4. Lolly says:

    She has one of the most irritating voices out there. Like she makes Taylor Swift sound soulful. I have no clue why the most untalented singers get the most recognition sometimes. I doubt Spielberg even offered her the part, which is why she is pretending she said no.

  5. KBeth says:

    I thought that was Jennifer Love Hewitt in the photo.

  6. BANANIE says:

    I find her voice so annoying, but I’m impressed she managed to carve out such a career for herself post- Fifth Harmony.

    I think part of the problem with Millennials slapping labels on everything is that, ahem, the label “Millennial” follows us wherever we go! You can’t just talk about us all/to us all about being a mass of lazy, entitled, unmotivated lumps and then get upset when we try to distinguish ourselves other ways.

    Personally, I don’t really get why people try to say they’re this way or that, but they have a right to, and it doesn’t bother me. I also think it’s different when you’re an everyday person vs someone like Camila, who’s a celebrity out to project an image. It’s her brand.

  7. Claire Voyant says:

    She is a smug, racist homophobe ans I hope her career dies a slow death. Old tweets and posts never die, Camilla.

    • ichsi says:

      What did she say?

    • Claire Voyant says:

      She has liked/shared tweets containing racial slurs and done the same for a tweet referring to Harry Styles as a f*#@ing f$¥€@t and a holocaust joke. She has also made racially charged observations about the black members of 5th Harmony. There’s lots more and black social media canceled her long ago.

    • Mash says:

      right she was straight dropping the N*GGER word..like omg i LOL (its not funny and as a black person the word is painful) but i LOL like WOOOOOOOW you can get away with anything with youre a white or white-adjacent waif of a singer…. she is cancelled and I’m praying her career tanks.

  8. Marty says:

    LOL, girl please!

    Honestly, it doesn’t bother me when Latinos play roles not related to their specific heritage. Hopefully, we can progress to that point, but Latino representation is still not good, so I’m not going to split hairs about nationality.

  9. Tale says:

    The perpective of kids being crazy for her ia brand new to me tbh. Im 20. As far as I could tell everyone hates her. Shes racist and overall not talented. Back when she left 5H tumblr at large, to take one example, wanted and hoped her to fail. The receipts of her racism are all over twitter, too. I cant stand her.
    And you see, this is why i cant stand this singers turned actors thing (I havr a few exceptions, Gaga for one). I mean, its spielberg. Maria. I would give my right arm for it. But for whats worth she should say no alright. Let a real actress get the job lol.

  10. SM says:

    I don’t even know who she is…

  11. Lila says:

    Puerto Rican’s & Cubans share a deep history that goes back to the days of the independence struggle from Spain. Also, not all Latinos are brown. Can we stop perpetuating this image?

    I’m PR & Cuban & both backgrounds are incredibly similar, even down to musical traditions. People should learn some more before jumping in with their dissertations about history they know nothing of.