It’s fair to say that Rachel Zegler has faced more online scrutiny than most stars, with the 22-year-old actor regularly targeted across social media.
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It all started when she was cast as the titular character in Disney’s live-action adaptation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which is due for release next year.
Rachel, who is of Colombian and Polish descent, immediately faced racist backlash from people who argued that the princess should be played by a white actor.
And this cruel response to Rachel continued when she criticized the character of Prince Charming in the original film and said that the adaptation will have a more feminist undertone.
Speaking at the D23 Expo in 2022, she said, “The original cartoon came out in 1937, and very evidently so. There’s a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird! Weird! So we didn’t do that this time.”
“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,” Rachel later said to Variety. “She’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be, and that her late father told her that she could be if she was fearless, fair, brave, and true.”
Then, in September of that year, Rachel confessed that she only watched Snow White once as a child and that it had terrified her. She told Entertainment Weekly, “I was scared of the original version. I think I watched it once and never picked it up again. I’m being so serious.”
@rachelzegler / Via Instagram: @rachelzegler
“I watched it once, and then I went on the ride in Disney World, which was called Snow White’s Scary Adventures…doesn’t sound like something a little kid would like,” she continued. “I was terrified of it, never revisited Snow White again.
“I watched it for the first time in probably 16, 17 years, when I was doing this film,” Rachel concluded.
All of this led to Rachel being vilified by Disney fans, with the star unfairly accused of “shaming anyone who liked” the animated original and branded “a walking PR disaster.”
In the face of the backlash, many leaped to Rachel’s defense, with it being repeatedly pointed out that there are heaps of other stars who have said a lot worse about the projects they have starred in without facing any consequences.
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Robert Pattinson and Harrison Ford were both used as examples, and more recently, fans have drawn parallels between Rachel’s comments about Snow White and Dakota Johnson’s recent Madame Web press tour, as well as Jacob Elordi’s remarks about his early Kissing Booth fame.
But Rachel has continued to be targeted, with trolls even inundating her old YouTube videos with nasty comments.
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The star’s most recent upload to her YouTube page is a cover of Katie Gregson-MacLeod’s song “Complex,” which she posted on Aug. 5.
It has maintained a steady stream of cruel responses since then, but fans have grown concerned after noticing that Rachel started to reply to some of the more extreme messages this week.
Almost seven months after she shared the video, Rachel seemingly returned to the post to see what was being said about it — and her response has worried people.
Replying to one troll who asked, “Why are you still alive?” Rachel wrote, “i don’t know man.”
Rachel Zegler / Via youtube.com
Somebody else appeared to reference her recent People’s Choice Awards win as they commented, “how does it feel knowing you got an award you don’t deserve?” Rachel wrote back, “omg should I kill myself?”
Rachel Zegler / Via youtube.com
Sharing screenshots of the comments to a Reddit forum, one person wrote, “Is Rachel Zegler alright? The amount of hate she received on her youtube newest video comment section is ridiculous, and she recently replied to hate messages. (I am worried about her),” and many expressed sympathy for the star as they echoed this sentiment.
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“i feel so bad for her. she doesn’t deserve the hate she gets.. it’s too much,” somebody replied. Another wrote, “I really hope she steps back and doesn’t reply to the hate comments and just blocks them/tells her team to do so. It’ll mess with your brain when your bombarded with all that toxicity online.”
One more added, “the hate for her is really bizarre and strange. this girl hasn’t even said anything crazy.” Somebody else said, “The hate campaign against her for saying a few things is so scary. I’ve seen people get away with saying slurs for less.”
Another asked, “What on earth is going on? Like this sucks regardless, but what’s with all this vitriol? Where does this come from? It’s disgusting and I hope she’s ok.”
Others shared their hope that Rachel’s replies were sarcastic, with one pointing out, “From what I’ve seen with Rachel’s social media activity, she’s funny and is good with rolling with the punches.”
“I think it’s important to remember she interacts with her fans a lot and replies to a ton of positive comments so she is not just focusing on the hate,” somebody else added as reassurance.
