Last week, the long-awaited adaption to the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical In the Heights premiered in theaters. However, its release didn’t come without controversy. Many Afro-Latinos noted that the film didn’t exactly represent Washington Heights’ ethnic makeup. In particular, writers like The Root’s Felice León noted the lack of dark-skinned actors. “Granted, the trailer showcased Black dancers,” she wrote, “and there were certainly Black women in the hair salon, but where are the dark-skinned Black Latinx folks with a storyline? After all, this film is placed in Washington, Heights, N.Y., right?!”

On Tuesday, Miranda apologized to his followers for the oversight, promising to do better in the future.

“I’m seeing the discussion around Afro-Latino representation in our film this weekend,” he said in a note posted to Twitter. “It is clear that many in our dark-skinned Afro-Latino community don’t feel sufficiently represented within it, particularly among the leading roles. I can hear the hurt and frustration over colorism…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.”

-LMM pic.twitter.com/CHfdLgFUz3

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) June 14, 2021

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