The internet loves a villain, and in the saga of Disney’s live-action Snow White remake, Rachel Zegler has been cast as the fall guy. A viral YouTube video from April 18, 2025, titled “The Exact moment that cost Disney $800 million,” claims to pinpoint the precise moment Zegler’s actions led to a colossal financial loss for Disney, dwarfing the film’s already dismal performance. But the $800 million figure raises eyebrows, and the narrative around Zegler’s “biggest mess-up” doesn’t align with the facts. So, what’s the real story behind this fairy tale flop, and did Zegler single-handedly cost Disney a fortune?

Disney’s Snow White, released on March 21, 2025, was a $270 million gamble that misfired spectacularly, starring Zegler as the titular princess and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen. The film opened to a lackluster $43 million domestically and $87 million worldwide, eventually limping to a global total of $225 million, according to Deadline. After factoring in $111 million in marketing and other expenses, the studio faced a $115 million loss, a far cry from the $800 million claimed online. Even with streaming and home entertainment revenue—projected at $130 million and $62 million, respectively—Snow White couldn’t break even. The film needed around $625 million to turn a profit, a target it never approached, per ScreenRant.

The YouTube video suggests Zegler’s “biggest mess-up” wasn’t her well-documented interviews where she criticized the 1937 original Snow White as “dated” and its prince as a “stalker,” comments that alienated purist fans. Instead, it hints at another moment, though it fails to specify what that moment was, relying on vague insinuations to drive clicks. Zegler’s most infamous misstep came on August 12, 2024, when she posted on X, “and always remember, free palestine,” right after thanking fans for the Snow White trailer’s 120 million views, as reported by Variety. This post, amassing 8.8 million views, sparked outrage, especially as it coincided with tensions over the Israel-Gaza conflict. Co-star Gal Gadot, an Israeli actress, faced death threats, prompting Disney to hire extra security for her and her family. Producer Marc Platt flew to New York to address Zegler’s post, which she refused to remove, leading Disney to assign her a social media consultant to vet future posts.

Zegler’s political outspokenness didn’t stop there. After the 2024 U.S. election, she posted on Instagram, “Fuck Donald Trump” and “May Trump supporters … never know peace,” alienating a significant portion of the film’s potential audience, per Variety. These comments, made during the promotional run-up to Snow White’s release, fueled a narrative that Zegler was a liability. Jonah Platt, son of producer Marc Platt, later called her “narcissistic” in a now-deleted Instagram post, accusing her of dragging her politics into the film’s publicity, hurting its box office, as noted by ThatParkPlace. But while Zegler’s actions contributed to the film’s toxic PR, they weren’t the sole reason for its failure. Production issues, including a set fire, COVID-19 delays, and costly reshoots during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, ballooned the budget, per SlashFilm. The film’s modernized plot—swapping the dwarfs for CGI “magical creatures” and reimagining Snow White as a feminist leader—also alienated fans, as discussed on Reddit’s r/moviecritic.

The $800 million loss claim is a gross exaggeration. Even if we factor in Disney’s total expenses of $410 million and assume zero ancillary revenue, the loss wouldn’t approach that figure. The YouTube video’s sensationalism taps into a broader trend of scapegoating Zegler, a young Latina actress already facing racist backlash since her 2021 casting, as Vanity Fair noted. Her performance in Snow White was a bright spot, earning praise for its “sublime” quality despite the film’s 40% Rotten Tomatoes score, per Deadline. Yet, the narrative of her being a $800 million liability ignores systemic issues: Disney’s overinflated budgets, audience fatigue with live-action remakes, and the studio’s failure to manage the film’s PR early, as one agent told Variety, “The first time she shoots her mouth off, you nip it in the bud.”

Zegler’s next move is the West End’s Evita, a return to her musical theater roots where her talent first shone in Spielberg’s West Side Story. The Snow White debacle, while a setback, hasn’t dimmed her star for many fans who rallied behind her, with #SaveRachel trending on X, as reported by GrowNewsUs. Disney, meanwhile, has paused projects like Tangled, signaling a reevaluation of its live-action strategy, per ScreenRant. The $800 million claim may grab headlines, but the real mess-up lies in a perfect storm of mismanagement, cultural divides, and a budget that never justified the risk—not in one “exact moment” pinned on a 23-year-old actress.