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 drawn the ire of activists with his views, waded into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with X while promoting the blockbuster, despite branding experts warning such antics could trigger a boycott.
The New Jersey native took to X on Aug. 12 — two days after the trailer was released — to respond to his own post, saying, “And always remember, free Palestine.”
The teaser 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 publications have taken exception to Zegler’s comment, suggesting she insulted Gadot, although there is no indication of tension between the two leading ladies.
Disney has been trying to shake off hot-button issues after finding itself mired in a series of controversies blamed for its stock price slump.
Zegler himself appeared to have calmed down after angering moviegoers by announcing that he “hated” the original 1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
He branded the story “weird”, referring to the prince character as a “stalker” and suggested that he would have made sure the remake made sure the fairy tale tinkering was consensual.
Snow White remake star Rachel Zegler, 23, took to X two days after sharing the film’s trailer, sharing her political views even after backlash over past comments.
The $330 million Disney film, directed by Marc Webb, was scheduled for a March 2024 release, but was delayed after executives were forced into “crisis talks” to do serious damage limitation following a negative response to Zegler’s comments.
Also, a number of different dwarves have since been replaced with CGI alternatives that more closely resemble the little people of the original film.
The actor, who has vowed to ensure the remake is more progressive than the original, previously faced a backlash after several videos of him talking negatively about the original film in various interviews in 2022 surfaced online.
Speaking about her character, Zegler said, “The prince is not going to save her, and she’s not going to dream of true love.”
As well as being branded a fake feminist, some critics accused her of ‘gas lighting’, while a marketing consultant warned that Disney ‘should be careful about how they’ve portrayed Snow White’.
Branding expert Carla Speight told DailyMail.com: “While it’s been clear that the original Disney Princess films carry old values, Disney has fallen into the trap of going to the opposite extreme to bring strong and rich messages to viewers – believing. it’s empowerment.”
The teaser trailer features Zegler (left) as the titular princess, the controversial CGI Seven Dwarfs, and Israeli actress Gal Gadot, 39, (right) as the iconic Evil Queen.
The $330 million Disney film was due for release in March 2024, but was delayed after executives were forced into “crisis talks” to do serious damage limitation following negative responses to Zegler’s positions. (pictured: Zegler at D23 on August 9)
“There was a time when the Disney cast were media-trained and considered the impact of their words while sticking to the main messages of the films, but it seems that this complete rewrite of Snow White, portraying her as a ‘bossy girl’, has gone to their stars’ heads.
– Disney should be careful about how they have portrayed Snow White and what they are doing, and not let their actors have a say in it.
“They simply cannot repeat the same mistakes and allow their actors to be so vocal about their own personal opinions during promotions,” Speight added.
PR expert Nick Ede agreed with Speight, telling DailyMail.com that instead of “embracing his role” as one of the most famous fairy tale characters, Zegler “has actively chosen to ruin the story”.
Speaking at the Disney D23 Expo in California in September 2022, Zegler, best known for his breakout role in West Side Story, said: “The original cartoon was published in 1937, and obviously so.
– It focuses a lot on her love story with a man who is literally stalking her. Strange! Strange! So we didn’t do that this time.
While Disney has tried to move away from the hot button issues, Zegler continues to add fuel to the fire after previously admitting he “hated” the original 1937 film and calling the story “weird” referring to the Prince character as a “stalker.” ‘
“We have a different approach to what I’m sure a lot of people think is a love story just because we’re playing a man in the movie,” she continued, referring to Andrew Burnap, who plays Jonathan-Zegler’s love interest in the film. movie.
“All of Andrew’s scenes may be cut, who knows? It’s Hollywood, honey!,” she joked, before admitting in a separate interview that she was “terrified” when she took her beloved Snow White trip to Disney World.
Of the 1937 film, he said: “I was scared of the original version. I think I watched it once and I couldn’t take it anymore. I’m so serious.
“I watched it once, and then I went to Disney World, which was called Snow White’s Scary Adventures. It doesn’t sound like something a little kid would want. I was scared of it, and I never visited Snow White again,” she added in an interview alongside Gadot.
In a later interview with Late Night host Jimmy Fallon, Zegler claimed that he often had to wait in line for a Disney trip, which he allegedly despised so much.
In yet another high-profile interview about the film, Zegler defended the film’s newly enforced progressive bent: “People make these jokes about us being PC Snow White…yeah, it is—because it needed to be.”
Of the 1937 film, he said: “I was scared of the original version. I think I watched it once and I couldn’t take it anymore. I’m so serious.’
The 1937 version of Snow White was the first full-length traditionally animated feature film and Disney’s first animation.
“Our version is a refreshing story about a young woman with a mission other than Someday My Prince Will Come.”
The Colombian-American actress came under somewhat critical scrutiny after being cast as Snow White, who has always been described as having “skin as white as snow.”
In a since-deleted tweet, she wrote: “Yes, I’m Snow White; no, I’m not bleaching my skin for the role.
Other than Zegler’s controversial statements, the Seven Dwarfs caused its own backlash in the remake.
The film received negative attention after DailyMail.com revealed that the dwarves were replaced by seven “magical (non-dwarf) beings” to keep the story in line with the 21st century’s 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 are seen as CGI characters (pictured)
They were originally seen on the set of the film and featured a mix of men and women of different ethnicities, including an actual dwarf. Disney initially denied that these images were from the set of the movie – but eventually backed down.
In the trailer, the real-life dwarfs were replaced by CGI characters who danced and sang along with Zegler.
Disney’s 1937 version of the film follows Snow White’s befriending of the seven dwarfs while hiding from her evil stepmother, who later poisons her with an apple, before Prince Charming wakes her up with a kiss. The plot is loosely based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale of the same name from 1812.
Upon its release, it became a huge hit for Disney, earning hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide. It was also the first full-length traditionally animated feature film and Disney’s first animated film.
A new adaptation of Snow White will be released in March 2025.
