Snow White remake star Rachel Zegler has sparked another storm of controversy while promoting the long-delayed Disney film.
The 23-year-old, who has repeatedly sparked anger with her progressive views, waded into the Israel-Palestine conflict in X while promoting the hit film, despite branding experts warning that such antics could trigger a boycott.
The New Jersey native took to X on August 12, two days after posting the trailer, to respond to her own post saying, “And always remember, free Palestine.”
The trailer features Zegler as the titular princess, the controversial CGI Seven Dwarfs and Israeli actress Gal Gadot, 39, as the iconic Evil Queen.
Some Israeli publicationFans have taken issue with Zegler’s comment, suggesting she insulted Gadot, although there is no suggestion of tension between the two female leads.
Disney has been trying to steer clear of controversial topics after being embroiled in a series of proactive controversies blamed for its falling stock price.
Zegler herself seemed to have calmed down after angering viewers by declaring that she “hated” the original 1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs film.
She called the story “bizarre”, while referring to the Prince’s character as a “stalker” and suggested she had made sure the new version ensured any fairytale kisses were consensual.
Snow White remake star Rachel Zegler, 23, took to X two days after sharing a sneak peek of the film’s trailer and shared her political views even after facing backlash for previous comments.
Disney’s $330 million film, directed by Marc Webb, was originally scheduled for release in March 2024 but was delayed after executives had to hold “crisis talks” to limit some serious damage following the backlash to Zegler’s stances.
A diverse cast of dwarves has also since been replaced with CGI alternatives that more closely resemble the little people featured in the original film.
The actress, who vowed to ensure the remake was more progressive than the original, previously faced backlash after several videos of her speaking negatively about the original film in various interviews in 2022 resurfaced online.
Speaking about her character, Zegler said: “She won’t be saved by the prince and she won’t dream of true love.”
As well as being labelled a “fake feminist”, some critics accused her of “gaslighting”, while one marketing consultant warned that Disney “should be careful with how it has portrayed Snow White”.
Speaking to DailyMail.com, branding expert Carla Speight said: ‘While it’s been clear that the original Disney Princess films uphold old values, Disney has fallen into the trap of going to the opposite extreme to inflict strong, charged messages on viewers, believing this to be empowering.
The trailer features Zegler (left) as the titular princess, the controversial CGI Seven Dwarfs star, and Israeli actress Gal Gadot, 39, (right) as the iconic Evil Queen.
Disney’s $330 million film was originally scheduled for release in March 2024 but was delayed after executives had to hold “crisis talks” to limit serious damage following the backlash to Zegler’s stances. (pictured: Zegler at D23 on August 9)
There was a time when Disney actors were media-savvy and thoughtful about the impact of their words while sticking to the films’ key message, but it seems that with this total rewrite of Snow White, imagining her as a “girl boss” has gone to its stars’ heads.
‘Disney will have to be careful about how it has portrayed Snow White and what it does and does not allow its actors to say about her in the future.
“They simply cannot repeat the same mistakes and allow their actors to express their personal opinions so openly during promotions,” Speight added.
PR expert Nick Ede agreed with Speight, telling DailyMail.com that rather than “embracing his role” as one of the most famous fairy tale characters, “Zegler” has actively chosen to ruin the narrative.
Speaking at the Disney D23 Expo in California in September 2022, Zegler, best known for her breakout role in ‘West Side Story’, said: ‘The original cartoon came out in 1937, and it’s very apparent that that was the case.
‘There’s a lot of emphasis on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. How weird! How weird! So we didn’t do that this time.
While Disney has tried to stay away from controversial topics, Zegler continues to add fuel to the fire after previously admitting she “hated” the original 1937 film and calling the story “weird” while referring to the Prince character as a “stalker.”
“We have a different approach to what I’m sure a lot of people will assume is a love story just because we cast a guy in the movie,” she continued, referring to Andrew Burnap, who plays Jonathan-Zegler’s love interest in the film.
“All of Andrew’s scenes could be cut, who knows? It’s Hollywood, honey!” she joked, before admitting in another interview that she was “terrified” when she rode the beloved Snow White ride at Disney World.
Of the 1937 film, he said: “I was scared of the original version. I think I saw it once and never saw it again. I’m being very serious.”
“I saw it once and then I went on the ride at Disney World, which was called Snow White’s Scary Adventures. It doesn’t look like something a little kid would be into. I was so scared, I never saw Snow White again,” he added in an interview with Gadot.
In a later interview with Late Night host Jimmy Fallon, Zegler claimed that she frequently found herself standing in line for the Disney attraction she supposedly despises so much.
In another high-profile interview about the film, Zegler defended the film’s forced new progressive bent: ‘People are making these jokes about us being the politically correct Snow White… yeah, she is, because she needed to be.
Of the 1937 film, he said: “I was frightened by the original version. I think I saw it once and never saw it again. I’m being very serious.”
The 1937 version of Snow White was the first traditionally animated feature film and Disney’s first animated feature film.
‘Our version is a refreshing story about a young woman who has a role beyond ‘Someday My Prince Will Come.’
The Colombian-American actress faced some scrutiny from critics after being cast as Snow White, who has long been described as having “skin as white as snow.”
In a tweet she later deleted, she wrote: “Yes, I am Snow White; no, I am not bleaching my skin for the role.”
Aside from Zegler’s controversial statements, the seven dwarves provoked their own reaction in the remake.
The film received negative attention after DailyMail.com revealed that the dwarves would be replaced by seven “magical (non-dwarf) creatures” in an effort to keep the narrative in line with the 21st century commitment to political correctness.
The film received negative attention after DailyMail.com revealed that the dwarves would be replaced by seven “magical (non-dwarf) creatures”. In the trailer, the dwarves appear as computer-generated characters (pictured)
Originally, they were seen on the set of the film and included a mix of men and women of different ethnicities, with an actual dwarf among them. Disney initially denied that these images were from the set of the film, but eventually retracted the claim.
In the trailer, the real-life dwarves were replaced by CGI characters, dancing and singing along with Zegler.
Disney’s version of the 1937 film follows Snow White as she befriends the seven dwarfs while hiding from her evil stepmother, who then poisons her with an apple before Prince Charming awakens her from her slumber with a kiss. The plot is loosely based on the 1812 fairy tale of the same name by the Brothers Grimm.
At the time of its release, it became a huge success for Disney, grossing hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide. It was also the first traditionally animated feature film and Disney’s first animated feature film.
The new adaptation of Snow White will be released in March 2025.
