She has previously labelled the original Snow White film as ‘weird’ and ‘scary’
Rachel Zegler has prompted debate online after old comments she made about the original Snow White story resurfaced online.
Zegler is set to play the Disney princess in the upcoming live action remake of the classic fairytale.
In recent days though, clips of the West Side Story star criticising the original 1937 film have been shared online, sparking a backlash against the 22-year-old.
Speaking in an interview in October last year, the Golden Globe-winning actor spoke openly about how she thought the original Snow White was “weird.”
She told ExtraTV: “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 have a different approach to what I’m sure a lot of people will assume is a love story just because we cast a guy in the movie.”
Speaking about her co-star Andrew Burnap, who plays male lead Jonathan in the upcoming film, she joked: “All of Andrew’s scenes could get cut, who knows? It’s Hollywood, baby!”
In a separate interview with Variety, the actor said: “We absolutely wrote a Snow White that is not gonna be saved by the prince.”
Zegler added: “She’s not going to be saved by the prince and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love.”
And in a chat with Entertainment Weekly alongside Gal Gadot, who will play the Evil Queen in the film, Zegler said she found the original film scary and had only watched it once.
She also labelled the 1937 film “extremely dated when it comes to women being in roles of power.”
These comments have all led to the anti-woke brigade lashing out at Zegler, with some accusing her of “pseudo feminism.”
In a TikTok which has been viewed more than 10 million times, @CosyWithAngie said: “Criticising Disney princesses is not feminist. Not every woman is a leader. Not every woman wants to be a leader. Not every woman wants or craves power and that’s ok.
“Thinking that a woman is any less valuable because she falls in love or because she accepts help from somebody instead of girl-bossing her way through her problems is not feminist.”
In another video, someone else said: “Just because a woman values something different, does not make her any less valuable.”
And a third said in their own TikTok: “If you hate the original this much, why would you want to make the remake? Pls make it make sense.”
On Twitter, the debate has raged on, with anti-woke accounts attacking Zegler and Disney.
Some have defended the actor though, with one person writing on X: “The dogpiling on Rachel Zegler is completely unjustified and is online mob mentality.
“All for an interview given over year ago, for a movie whose trailer hasn’t even come out yet. We know these Disney retellings LOVE to shake things up, let’s be for real now!”
Film critics Kayleigh Donaldson said: “The levels of hate she gets online are astonishing. Harassing an actress for being earnest and doing her job is no substitute for a personality.”
And actor Shelby Young labelled the hate being directed at Zegler as “disgusting” and a sign of how “critical thinking has gone out the window.”
When it was announced that Zegler had been cast as Snow White, the Latina actor was on the receiving end of racist abuse and trolling online, similar to that which Halle Bailey was subjected to following her casting as the Little Mermaid.
In a post on X last month, Zegler said: “Extremely appreciative of the love i feel from those defending me online, but please don’t tag me in the nonsensical discourse about my casting. i really, truly do not want to see it.”
‘Snow White’ is due to be released in cinemas in on March 22 next year.
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