Disney’s live action adaptation of Snow White hit theaters on March 21, 2025, and though it was set up with over a $270 million dollar budget, as of today it has yet to make $100 million in the American box office. Many critics believe that it’s due to “lazy script-writing” and “poor stylistic choices”, and it’s hard to deny the 40% on Rotten Tomatoes- But, most of all, some critics believe the lead actress of the film, Rachel Zegler is the one to blame.

It’s hard not to see hatred towards Rachel Zegler whenever the topic of Snow White is brought up, whether it be about her casting, opinion on the original film, or her outspoken personality. But, these ideas diminish the hard work that the 23-year old actress has done to get to this point in her career, and frankly, she deserves so much better.

Rachel Zegler: Background

Rachel Zegler is a multi-faceted and extremely talented actress/singer-songwriter, and has accomplished so much in her career so far. She gained her first ‘fame ‘- like sensation from her cover of “Shallow” by Lady Gaga on YouTube as well as her other covers on her YouTube channel. Her musical theater skills led her to star in Steven Spielberg’s live adaptation of “West Side Story” at the age of 16 which she won a Golden Globe for.

She also famously played Lucy Gray Baird in “Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”, and in the past year, she portrayed Juliet alongside Heartstopper’s Kit Connor in Broadway’s “Romeo and Juliet”. She’s also praised for her roles in films “Shazam: Fury of the Gods”, “Y2K”, and “Spellbound”.

She is currently working towards cementing herself as one of the most iconic young actresses of our generation, and being “Woman’d” (When everyone stops liking a woman at the same time; Rayne Fisher Quann) is what she’s getting back for it.

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Snow White: Casting Controversy

Rachel Zegler was first announced to be playing the coveted role of Snow White in the summer of 2021, and though you can’t deny her talent, online trolls and attackers claimed she wasn’t “fit for the role” because of her ethnicity as a Latina woman. “Skin as white as snow”– this connotation towards the character of Snow White was utilized in racial discrimination by online fans of the original film when the topic of her casting came to light, with blatant racist comments circulating on the internet.

This discrimination is very similar to when Halle Bailey was cast as Ariel in The Little Mermaid-bringing to light the underlying tones of racism when people described the casting as “too woke”, diminishing the hard work she’d put into the movie because of the color of her skin. In Zegler and Bailey’s Actors on Actors interview in 2023, Bailey spoke, “That’s what people don’t realize: We’re granted amazing opportunities and able to be seen on massive screens, but there is a dissociation. People start taking you away from being a real human being who has feelings and reacts to things. That was definitely something that I had to navigate.”

People tried to hide their racist feelings towards these actresses by remarking phrases such as “the casting isn’t accurate” or “Didn’t do the original film justice”, but the references to how the movie was originally does not cover up the fact that the hatred towards Rachel’s casting was all racism- people didn’t take into account that she was human too when they came for her because of their opinions towards her casting.

Public Reaction to Snow White’s change

Zegler, in an interview for Entertainment Weekly (2024), remarked on the changes that would be made to the movie, sparking controversy as yet again, people believed that it wasn’t “doing the original film justice-”. She said, “The cartoon was made 85 years ago and therefore it’s extremely dated when it comes to ideas of women being in roles of power and what a woman is fit for in the world,” Zegler said. “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 and who can become a fantastic leader, and the reality is Snow White has to learn a lot of lessons about coming in to her own power before she can come into power over a kingdom.” Seems about right for a rebooted live action? Right?

The internet didn’t think so. Many ganged up on Zegler for this comment and for her involvement in ‘changing the movie’, which isn’t up to her, it’s up to Disney. Critics labeled her as “Too woke” to work with Disney, believing that she was feeding too much into the “girlboss” persona with her outspoken personality and fostered the creation of “Woke Propaganda”-believing that everything she ‘stood for’ was opposed to Snow White’s graceful and submissive demeanor that reflected the ideals of what a woman should be in the 1930s, when she was created.

She had also previously talked about her dislike for the old movie, saying it scared her as a child-which added even more fuel to the fire of the online trolls. Even though she’d continuously praised the story, and expressed her gratitude for the opportunity for the role-many called her “ungrateful”

…sound familiar?

Well, this is because something similar happened during the press of her film, “Shazam!: Fury of the Gods”

Past Scrutiny of Zegler and Deep-Rooted Misogyny

This isn’t the only time Rachel Zegler has been put down for her outgoing personality, previously, almost a year before the Snow White “girlboss” incident, Rachel Zegler claimed that the reason that she took up her role in “Shazam!: Fury of the Gods” was that she “Needed a job.” What essentially came off as a joke, resulted in a plethora of backlash as she was called ungrateful, and even spoiled for saying so- even though, in November, when Jacob Elordi was asked the same question, responding with “You know, I need a job,” he was publicly praised for it. Both actors are exceptionally talented, but why are one’s words getting received better than the other’s? It isn’t fair. She is also constantly ridiculed for sharing her political opinions online.

A double-edged sword

Rachel Zegler’s career and involvement in films can be described as a sort of double-edged sword, showing off her capabilities and range as an actress, but, coming along with lots, and LOTS of controversy.

Along with the controversies with films like “Snow White”, Rachel’s appearances in films like “West Side Story” and “Shazam”, even though they were a showcase of her various acting abilities and range, were clouded with outside controversies and issues that clouded her hard work and dedication. For example, West Side Story’s opposing lead, Ansel Elgort, was faced with sexual assault allegations, tarnishing the film during its release, and even though she won a Golden Globe for her portrayal as Maria, the public opinion of the film was based around Elgort’s alleged assault.

Correspondingly, many films like “Y2k”, “Spellbound”, and even “Shazam” did not perform well at the box office.

Rachel Zegler is a woman with opinions, as well as an outgoing and ambitious personality, which is inspiring to young Latina girls like me. But, when she is put down for these traits by the general public, it can lead young girls to feel insecure-who may want to lessen themselves because of societal opinions and reception to Rachel Zegler’s actions.

Rachel Zegler’s career is just starting out, and with lots of experience under her belt, has come along with a multitude of issues and controversies that have plagued her public perception, stemming from issues such as misogyny, racism, and factors out of her control- and she deserves so much better.