During our award season coverage, I wrote about Odessa A’zion and Stevie Nicks-esque style. Odessa costars in Marty Supreme, and she’s gotten a lot of awards buzz and attention. She’s been nominated for a BAFTA and a SAG in supporting, but she didn’t make the cut for an Oscar nomination. Anyway, as I wrote about her style, I honestly had to double-check her race/ethnicity. I truly thought she was mixed race – she reminds me a bit of Halsey, looks-wise, and Halsey is white-presenting mixed-race. Well, that’s when I learned that Odessa is just a white woman who gives off mixed-race energy. It happens. I swear this is important! It’s important because Odessa recently booked a new role, only the character is supposed to have Mexican heritage. Odessa took a role from a Latina actress, or at least that was the backlash. Well, the backlash was short-lived, because Odessa just dropped out of the film.
“Marty Supreme” breakout Odessa A’zion took to her Instagram Stories on Wednesday night to announce she is dropping out of Sean Durkin’s A24 adaptation of “Deep Cuts” after the online outrage surrounding her casting, which was announced Monday.
“Guys! I am with all of you and I am not doing this movie. Lemme make myself clear,” A’zion wrote on her Instagram story Wednesday.
In the popular 2025 Holly Brickley novel, the character of Zoe Gutierrez is of Mexican heritage and is Jewish. The character is a close friend of music critic Percy, who will be played by Cailee Spaeny, and the ex-girlfriend of Percy’s love interest Joe, who will be played by Drew Starkey.
“Thank you guys for bringing this to my attention,” D’Azion continued, “I’m so sorry that this happened. 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 attention to all aspects of Zoe before accepting…and now that I know what I know? F–k that. I’m out!
“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. I can’t wait to see who it ends up being.”
Austin Butler and Saoirse Ronan were originally set to star in the music-fueled romance, but dropped out due to scheduling issues. The film is produced by Eli Bush, Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie, with Durkin also producing along with Anthony Katagas, Jordan Tappis and A24. Brickley is an executive producer.
My thoughts? Fair enough, across the board. I’m actually glad she said she hadn’t read the book, because that explains a lot. My guess is that the character’s racial/ethnic background wasn’t explained to her in those meetings. Let me also say this: Odessa is getting so much hype, and Marty Supreme was a huge break for her career. It’s significant that a relative ingenue like Odessa is “starting” this new phase of her career in this way, by dropping out of a role because she doesn’t want to take the part away from an actress with Mexican heritage. Many actresses would have dug their heels in and argued that “anyone can play any character.”
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
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- 31st Annual Critics Choice Awards at the Barker Hanger on January 4, 2026 in Santa Monica, CA,Image: 1063563439, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Odessa A’zion, Credit line: Nicky Nelson/Wenn/Avalon
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- 31st Annual Critics Choice Awards at the Barker Hanger on January 4, 2026 in Santa Monica, CA,Image: 1063563442, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Odessa A’zion, Credit line: Nicky Nelson/Wenn/Avalon
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- Odessa A’zion at the 83rd Annual Golden Globe Awards held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2026 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 1065335578, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Odessa Azion, Credit line: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon
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- Odessa Azion at the 83rd Annual Golden Globe Awards held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2026 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 1065338373, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Odessa Azion, Credit line: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon
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- Santa Monica, CA Celebrities attend the 31st Annual Critics Choice Awards at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California. Pictured: Odessa A’zion BACKGRID USA 4 JANUARY 2026 BYLINE MUST READ: Juan Rico / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
The character in the book is Mexican and Jewish, and Odessa is, as far as I know, Jewish, so she fits part of the character’s background.
“Well, that’s when I learned that Odessa is just a white woman who gives off mixed-race energy. It happens.”
Nope! “It happens” because Odessa purposely restyled herself to give off mixed-race energy. Because prior to this recent transformation, she was out here looking like a straight-up blond, blue-eyed white woman.
While her decision is correct let me state this as a Mexican individual: there is no one way to look for someone who is Mexican or of Mexican ancestry. There is such a mishmash of different ancestries represented in the Mexican people. No one skin tone, hair color or eye color is indicative of being Mexican. Is brown hair and brown eyes with a medium brown skin prevalent? Yes, and this is likely from indigenous ancestry. But there’s also Irish, German, Chinese, west African, Spanish, Moorish (Arabic from the Iberian peninsula), Portuguese, etc etc ancestry.
I myself am of dark brown hair and eyes with a light tan skintone with gold/olive undertones, and have had other Mexican people tell me I do not look Mexican. Born and raised there by other folk also born and raised there going back several generations. There is no one look to being Mexican.