Rachel Zegler has apologized for comments she made following Donald Trump’s re-election, which included “Fuck Donald Trump” and “May Trump supporters … and Trump himself never know peace.” Her remarks drew backlash from conservatives including Megyn Kelly, who demanded she be fired from Disney’s live-action “Snow White.”
“Hi everyone, I would like to sincerely apologize for the election post I shared on my Instagram last week. I let my emotions get the best of me,” Zegler wrote on Instagram. “Hatred and anger have caused us to move further and further away from peace and understanding, and I am sorry I contributed to the negative discourse.” She continued, “This week has been emotional for so many of us, but I firmly believe that everyone has the right to their opinion, even when it differs from my own. I am committed to contributing positively toward a better tomorrow.”
In an Instagram story posted after the election, the “West Side Story” and “Romeo + Juliet” star wrote that she was “speechless” in anticipation of “another four years of hatred.”
“There is also a deep, deep sickness in this country that is shown in the sheer amount of people who showed up for this man who threatens our democracy,” Zegler wrote of Trump, who beat Kamala Harris in both the Electoral College and popular vote. She continued, “Sending love to everyone who needs it today” and emphasized the importance of local politics, before signing off her note with, “Fuck Donald Trump.”
Zegler, whose comments about “Snow White” have previously landed her in the crosshairs of the culture war, once again found herself at the center of right-wing outrage. On her SiriusXM radio show, Kelly lambasted the 23-year-old actor, saying, “Hello, Disney! You’re gonna have to redo your film again, because this woman is a pig, and you fired Gina Carano for far less than this nonsense. She has to go. I’m sorry, Disney, she has to go right now … There’s something wrong with this person.”
Kelly was referencing Disney’s firing of Carano from “The Mandalorian” after the actor compared the treatment of conservatives in America to that of Jews in the Holocaust.
Zegler is a Golden Globe-winning actor who is currently starring on Broadway in “Romeo + Juliet.” After launching her career in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” reboot, she went on to land roles in “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” and led the “Hunger Games” spinoff “The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.” She also had a voice role in Netflix’s animated film “Spellbound” and is in Kyle Mooney’s disaster comedy “Y2K.”
