by Alexis Margolin
Rachel Zegler, who will be playing the lead role of Snow White in the upcoming Disney live action film, has been facing a lot of backlash for her comments on the film. As reported on by NBC News, Zegler stated, “We absolutely wrote a ‘Snow White’ that … she’s not going to be saved by the prince, and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love.”
This comment sparked a lot of controversy, as people believe that the comments she made were not feminist, as she intended, and were instead wrongfully criticizing a Disney princess. As stated in an article by Today, one TikToker responded to Zegler’s comments by claiming, “Criticizing Disney princesses is not feminist. Not every woman is a leader. Not every woman wants to be a leader. Not every woman wants or craves power.”
Many people agreed with this person’s comments and feel the same way. This was only the first of Zegler’s controversial comments, as she went on to say in another interview, reported on by NBC News, that she has “watched it once and never picked it up again” in regards to the original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs film.
A Twitter/X user made remarks about Zegler, insisting, “Rachel Zegler admitting she didn’t like Snow White growing up, saying she had only watched it ONCE before getting the role is so sad to me.” This again resparked her backlash, and she responded on Twitter/X by posting photos of herself dressed up as Snow White and other Disney characters as a child to prove she does love the characters and is grateful to be playing Snow White.
While she has many critics, there are also many who support her and believe the criticism has gotten out of hand and is not that serious. Today reported on multiple Twitter/X users who responded to Zegler’s backlash. One user exclaimed, “I thought Rachel Zegler ran over somebody grandma or sumn….. imagine my surprise.” Another user commented, “Rachel Zegler did nothing wrong and all of you who bullied her off of social media are disgusting.” The back and forth between Zegler’s supporters and haters has left her career in question, as many wonder if she will be able to continue in the industry after all of her backlash. One TikTok user stated, “I think Rachel’s a smart, beautiful, talented woman. I think she could go very, very far if she listened to the criticism, not the hate.”
Since Zegler’s comments on Snow White, she has not started any other controversies. Her new film, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, has just been released in theaters and has gotten mostly positive reviews. It seems that her career is not slowing down any time soon and the hate she has gotten from her comments will soon be forgotten.
The Drumbeat 