Simone Ashley’s supporting role in ‘F1’ was apparently drastically cut down

While Tom Cruise has a reputation as someone who mentors younger actors and hypes them up within productions and in the promotion, Cruise still has younger actors’ performances cut so that his films are centered on him and his sh-t. It happened with Manny Jacinto on Top Gun: Maverick – almost all of his scenes were cut. Well, the same thing has now happened with Brad Pitt and his dumbass vroom-vroom movie, F1. The basics of the story: Pitt’s character Sonny comes out of retirement to drive for an F1 team owned by Kerry Condon and managed by Javier Bardem. The team already has a hotshot young driver played by Damson Idris, and Sonny is supposed to compete with and mentor Damson’s character, Joshua.

They filmed this f–king movie for the better part of two years, and there are tons of photos from the international sets and races, so much so that people were well aware that Simone Ashley was cast in the role of Joshua’s girlfriend. There are photos of Damson and Simone at various races and looking coupled-up on set. Simone was also announced as part of the cast, and she’s been promoting the film for months as one of her many upcoming projects. She spent months on set, shooting scenes too. She even posted wrap photos on her Instagram!!

Well, now that F1 is being screened and premiered, people are talking a lot about how Simone’s role was massively cut back. She’s apparently only seen in one or two scenes. My guess? F1 director Joseph Kosinski (who also directed Top Gun: Maverick) and Brad Pitt decided that the movie needed to be more about Pitt trying to emote through his facelift and going vroom-vroom in fast cars, and why not cut out the woman of color?

Manny Jacinto’s involvement was publicized but his scenes in Top Gun: Maverick were cut without warning. He only found out when he sat in the theater.

Now it’s happening again. Simone Ashley’s casting in the F1 movie was pushed everywhere. Major publications ran it and so did… pic.twitter.com/ulCrh4z6eO

— did oscar score points in f1 today? (@oscarpiastri81) June 13, 2025

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.