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Live action remake has been subject to controversy in build up to release
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Rachel Zegler’s social media posts have been blamed for the dramatic whirlwind that has followed Disney’s live action remake of Snow White, which hit theatres last week.
The actor, 23, who plays the film’s titular character, showed support for Palestine while promoting Snow White on social media and later criticised Donald Trump supporters in an Instagram post.
Back in August, while sharing the first official Snow White trailer on X/Twitter, Zegler thanked her fans for their support, before adding in a separate post: “and always remember, free Palestine”.
The post, which garnered 8.8 million views online, caused Disney executives to immediately contact Zegler’s team, with the film’s producer Marc Platt flying to New York to speak to the star, per Variety.
Zegler’s co-star Gal Gadot, who is Israeli, reportedly began to receive an increased number of death threats following the post and Disney had to pay for increased security for the star and her family.
Reflecting on Zegler’s social media activity, one insider told the publication: “She didn’t understand the repercussions of her actions as far as what that meant for the film, for Gal, for anyone.”
Three months later, following the results of the presidential election, Zeglar shared a post that read: “F*** Donald Trump” and “May Trump supporters never know peace.”
Platt reportedly pulled Zegler aside and explained she was signalling to a substantial chunk of America that the forthcoming Disney film was not for them.
After some discussion, the star agreed to work with a social media specialist paid for by Disney, who approved all posts leading up to the film’s release date, per Variety.
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The Independent has contacted Rachel Zegler’s and Disney’s representatives for comment.
The new Disney live-action remake of Snow White had a sluggish start at the box office, making just $43m (£33m) over its opening weekend against an estimated production cost of $270m.
The film’s lengthy production process has been beset by controversies, unrelated to Zegler’s social media posts.
The film initially drew the ire of right-wing commentators when it was announced that West Side Story star Zegler had been cast in the lead role.
Critics claimed that Zegler, who is Latina, should not play a character who is referred to as having “skin as white as snow.”
Zegler further provoked traditionalists by arguing the plot needed to be updated as, in the original film, Prince Charming “literally stalks her”.
“It’s no longer 1937,” Zegler added. “She’s not going to be saved by the prince, and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love. She’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be.”
Further backlash came over Disney’s inclusion of the seven dwarfs in the remake.
Peter Dinklage, the Game of Thrones actor who has dwarfism, said in 2022 that he was surprised Disney was so proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White, while “you’re still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there.”
He continued: “It makes no sense to me. You’re progressive in one way, but then you’re still making that f***ing backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together?”
Disney responded to Dinklage’s comments at the time, saying it was consulting with the dwarfism community to “avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film”.
The new film, by 500 Days of Summer director Marc Webb, follows Snow White after the wicked queen (Gal Gadot), who is also her stepmother, orders her murder. Fleeing from the peril, Snow White makes her way into a forest and discovers the seven dwarfs in a cottage.
Critics failed to be impressed by the remake, however, with The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey handing out a one-star review and arguing that “Zegler deserves better than the lazy, visually repellent Snow White.”
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