Don’t Blame Rachel Zegler for Snow White’s Failure

Rachel Zegler has been one of the most controversial Latinas in Hollywood since it was announced in 2021 that she had been cast to play Snow White in Disney’s live-action remake of the 1937 classic. Critics were upset that an actress with Latin American roots would play the titular role, despite Zegler, who is of Colombian and Polish descent, being racially white. In 2023, when photos of the film were leaked, the public outcry grew stronger, with Zegler receiving an onslaught of hate online that she opted out of responding to. But since Snow White has flopped in cinemas since its March 21 release, Zegler and specifically her politics, is also being blamed.

A hit piece published by Variety at the end of March claimed to have insider information about Disney’s latest live-action trainwreck. Relying mostly on anonymous interviews of powerful executives in Hollywood who have a vested interest in justifying the dismal performance of the film through anything other than their own decisions, the piece is critical of Zegler’s public political positions. First, the execs blame the Latina actress for the film’s failure because of her outspoken support of Palestine. After she presented the first Snow White trailer in August 2024 at Disney’s D23 fan event, Zegler took to X (formerly the social media platform known as Twitter), to thank fans and, in the same thread, wrote: “and always remember, free palestine.” The post was short and to the point, but Zegler’s boss and producer of Snow White, Marc Platt, personally asked her to take it down for the good of the upcoming film and Zegler refused to do so. A few months later, she also critiqued the original 1937 Snow White picture, accurately describing the prince as stalking the heroine. According to the anonymous insiders who spoke to Variety, these two events were enough to push the public away from the film — never mind that live-action Disney remakes have been routinely badly reviewed and received lower attendance in more recent years. 

On the Internet, Zegler has become the villain du jour, with social media users calling her “immature” and “narcissistic” for sticking to her principles and refusing to back down when stating her values, something many people think she should do for the greater good of (checks notes) a bad remake by a huge corporation. Commentators have also mocked Zegler’s body hair, speculating that this is the real reason why Snow White flopped.

Zegler’s position on the newly elected Donald Trump administration — she tweeted “fuck Donald Trump” three months after the election — has also caused backlash online. Considering that Trump has ramped up deportations, slashed diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and has generally shown contempt for Latines, this particular backlash is an indicator of what people think Zegler should be: a Latina actress who should be grateful for her job, silent about her values, and submissive to the status quo. Thankfully, Zegler has made it clear she will not submit to the whims of the public or the Hollywood execs that would rather she stays quiet. 

Unfortunately, it’s not surprising that Zegler is being thrown under the bus in the current political climate. The actress is a young Latina in the public eye, which many in the entertainment business see as disposable. The reality is that Zegler’s only crime is that she has principles and lives by them in an industry where celebrities are expected to abandon their morals for profit and the success of their own careers. Zegler has consistently not allowed more powerful people to intimidate her out of doing what she feels is right, and that disrupts the Hollywood status quo. She is braver than most of the entertainment industry for sticking to her guns and refusing to be intimidated into silence — and this kind of fearless woman is scary for people who put profit above anything else. 

It’s also important to contextualise that Zegler’s co-star, Gal Gadot, who plays the Evil Queen, has also made political statements about the Israel-Palestine conflict, calling for the civilian hostages taken during the October 7 Hamas attacks to be returned. However, those statements are curiously considered less overtly political than Zegler’s, even though it’s well-known that Gadot was directly involved in the conflict because she served in the Israeli Defense Forces for two years as a combat trainer. But Gadot is less disposable to the general public because she is more palatable to the xenophobic, racist, right-wing people who are blaming Zegler for the tanking of a movie that underwent extensive reshoots and was on the receiving end of several anti-diversity backlashes. It’s easier to blame all of the film’s failure on Zegler rather than admit that a $270 million production was severely mismanaged, especially because Zegler is a young woman and a Latina, two demographics that have experienced social decline in the current political climate.

Framing Zegler’s support for a free Palestine as “narcissistic” and “immature” is not only ridiculous, it also reeks of misogyny. Those adjectives are often used against young women who refuse to be quiet, to submit to the status quo. The allegations that she made the Snow White set a hostile work environment for a literal ex-IDF soldier is questionable and calls on the fiery Latina stereotype. It’s fully possible for a young Latina to stand her ground and not be a bully, but ethnic stereotypes will always cast us as bullies. 

It’s not narcissistic to defend Palestinians as they are barraged by bombs; it’s honorable and brave. And as a Latina whose community is being directly targeted by the Trump administration, it’s not surprising that Zegler would stand with the Palestinian people. The idea that the film tanked in the box office because of Zegler is ludicrous, especially when some of the clips of the movie circulating around the Internet that showcase the terrible storytelling and exceedingly auto-tuned singing are the best motivators for film-goers to stay at home.

At a time when most people are comfortable being neutral so they don’t experience the consequences of standing up for what’s right, Zegler is a breath of fresh air. We need young women like her to speak out in these times; we need young women who take the most difficult path to expose injustice and support marginalized people, even if it hurts their own privilege. I actually admire Zegler’s ability to express herself politically and to stand her ground no matter the personal cost to her reputation. Latina girls and women everywhere should look up to her as a role model, as a woman who expresses herself well and isn’t intimidated by Hollywood executives who would never understand the importance of living by your principles.

Zegler is clearly comfortable in her skin and in her politics, and most of us can learn a lot by watching her weather this storm. We should all be supporting her and recognising the strength it takes to go against such a powerful industry.