‘Snow White’ Star Rachel Zegler Does Complete 180, Now Says Backlash Against Her Casting Was The Result Of Fan “Passion” Rather Than Misogyny: “What An Honor To Be Able To Be A Part Of Something That People Are So Passionate About”
Whether due to her own genuine development or a stern talking to from the House of Mouse, star Rachel Zegler has completely reversed course on her previous assertion that the backlash against her casting as the titular lead of Disney’s upcoming live-action Snow White was based wholly on ‘misogyny’, with the actress now claiming that the disappointed fans she wrote off were actually just “passionate” about something a piece of art they truly loved.
Zegler offered her new read of events while speaking to Vogue Mexico‘s Fernanda Perez Sanchez for their upcoming March 2025 issue, the interview ostensibly arranged in service of promoting Disney’s upcoming remake.
Asked by her host as to what exactly she hopes audiences “to really perceive” about her live-action take on the animated classic, Zegler asserted, “It’s really important for audiences to know that Disney has found this beautiful, delicate balance between taking the animated classic that everyone knows and loves from 1937, and at the same time introducing it to this new generation.”
“Her superpower is her heart, there’s no supernatural power that Snow White possesses beyond her love for humanity, for all living creatures and her fundamental belief that there’s goodness in everything,” said the actress. “That’s something I really think the world could use more of.”
From there, Zegler was then pressed for her current thoughts on the aforementioned backlash to her casting, to which she declared, “I interpret people’s feelings about this film as passion for it and what an honor to be able to be a part of something that people are so passionate about.”
“We’re not always going to have the same feelings as everyone around us and all we can do is give our best,” she added.
As noted above, Zegler’s response to Sanchez stands in stark contrast to her previous opinion that any and all negative feelings towards her casting were rooted not in a desire for artistic integrity or an exhaustion with performative representation, but rather critics’ shared disdain for women, which had led them to ‘misinterpret’ her words.
“I’ve watched women get torn down my whole life, my whole career,” said Zegler during an October 2024 interview with Variety. “We’ll watch it in the election that’s upcoming. We’re gonna witness that for a long time, I fear. Sometimes it can feel like we’re going back; it certainly felt that way when that was happening.”
For those either unaware or in need of a refresher regarding the Snow White discourse, the backlash against Zegler’s casting has largely been based on two specific issues, those being her casting’s existence as yet another Disney race-swap – the actress is half-Colombian, half-Polish – as well as her dismissing of the animated original as both ‘creepy’ and ‘sexist’.
“The original cartoon came out in 1937 and very evidently so,” she told Extra! immediately after giving attendees of the 2022 D23 Expo their first look at the film. “There’s a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird. Weird. So we didn’t do that this time.”
“We have a different approach to what I’m sure a lot of people will assume is a love story just because like we cast a guy in the movie,” continued the actress. “Andrew Burnap, great dude. It’s one of those things that I think everyone’s going to have their assumptions about what it’s actually going to be, but it’s really not about the love story at all, which is really, really wonderful. And whether or not she finds love along the way is anybody’s guess until 2024. All of Andrew’s scenes could get cut out. Who knows? It’s Hollywood, baby!”
Likewise, during an interview with Entertainment Weekly later that same year, Zegler declared, “The reality is that the cartoon was made 85 years ago and therefore it’s extremely dated when it comes to the ideas of women being in roles of power and what a woman is fit for in the world.”
“And so when we came to reimagining the actual role of Snow White it became about the fairest of them all meaning who is the most just, who can become a fantastic leader,” she further detailed. “And the reality is, you know, Snow White has to learn a lot of lessons about coming into her own power before she can come into power over a kingdom.”
At present, the live action, Zegler-led Snow White remake is on track to begin telling its tale on March 21st.
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