Rachel Zegler finds reactions to her Snow White comments “disturbing”. The “West Side Story” actress, who is Latina, faced backlash when she was cast in 2021 as the iconic Disney princess in an upcoming live-action film. She then found herself under fire last year when she revealed that the feature film would be more feminist and less “dated” than the original cartoon.
Reflecting on the insults she received online for her comments, Rachel Zegler, 23, told Variety: “In all honesty, I was sad that it was taken that way, because I believe that the women can do anything… I would never want to lock someone away by saying: “If you want love, you can’t work.” Or “If you want to work, you can’t have a family.” This is not true. This has never been true.”
The actress tried to explain at the time that her Snow White had other hopes and dreams other than finding Prince Charming. “It can be very upsetting when things are taken out of context or when jokes don’t hit the mark,” she continues. The love story is an integral part of the film. A lot of people have written that we don’t do (that storyline) anymore — we always have; it just wasn’t what we were talking about that day.”
As for the outcry over a Latina playing a character with “skin as white as snow,” the 23-year-old reveals there’s a new story behind the name.
“It’s another version of ‘Snow White’ told in the story, where she survived a snowstorm that happened when she was a baby,” she explains. So the king and queen decided to name her Snow White to remind her of her resilience. One of the essential points of our film for any young woman or young person is to remember how strong we are.
“Snow White” will be released in theaters on March 19, 2025.
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