Lin-Manuel Miranda discusses cancel culture reaction to 'In the Heights'

Singer and playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda discussed cancel culture and criticisms of his work in a recent interview with The New Yorker.

“It’s not cancelation. That’s having opinions,” said Miranda. “So I try to take it in that spirit.”

Miranda has received backlash for his recent musical drama “In The Heights” for lacking Afro-Latino representation. The movie is set in Washington Heights, a New York neighborhood known as Little Dominican Republic.

Earlier this year, responding to the criticism of “In The Heights,” Miranda apologized on Twitter.

“I’m seeing the discussion around Afro-Latino representation in our film this weekend and it is clear that many in our dark-skinned Afro-Latino community don’t feel sufficiently represented with, particularly among the leading roles,” read the tweet. 

-LMM pic.twitter.com/CHfdLgFUz3

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

In The New Yorker interview, Miranda explained that he understands that critics will have opinions about his work.

“Once something has success, you’re not the underdog trying to make it happen anymore,” he said. “You have to graduate past the mindset of, like, it’s a miracle I got something on the stage. Because now that is expected of me. And people go, ‘Yeah, but what about this? And what about this?’ And that’s fair! I do that with art I find lacking.”

Miranda says that he has learned lessons from the reception of his work. “You try to take all of it, and whatever sticks to your gut is what you bring with you to your next project,” he added.