Disney star Rachel Zegler refuses to 'assimilate' after 'Snow White' backlash

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Actress Rachel Zegler fired back at critics once again following the backlash to her casting in Disney's "Snow White" remake.

The 2025 live-action film struggled at the box office, with industry estimates saying it lost Disney about $170 million. 

Criticism of the movie as "woke" and Zegler's political tweets about the storyline and her thoughts on the Middle East sparked backlash. Speaking with Harper's Bazaar UK, Zegler addressed the hostility she experienced, including from those who didn't want someone of Colombian ancestry playing Snow White, revealing she faced "threats to my safety."

"I was told I wasn't enough of one thing for 'West Side Story' and too much of another for 'Snow White,'" Zegler said in the interview released Tuesday.

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"I do think there's an argument to be made that, in the public eye at least, when you're two things, you're simultaneously nothing. But I refuse to assimilate for anybody else's comfort," she added.

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Zegler also addressed her controversial comments on the outdated portrayal of the heroine in the original film and her public support of Palestinians in Gaza. In an August 2024 post on X, she wrote, "and always remember, free palestine."

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She has written other messages in support of Palestinians online, drawing criticism given that her "Snow White" co-star Gal Gadot, who played the Evil Queen, served in the Israel Defense Forces.

The actress never retracted her statements, but in the interview with Harper's Bazaar, she said, "I've said what I feel, and that will always be a testament to my core beliefs as a human. That's where I stand."

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Zegler added, "There's an understanding that the temptation to speak doesn't always mean that it must be done, and that there are a lot of opportunities to make more meaningful change than a tweet." 

She also revealed that if she had known the backlash would be so intense and threaten her safety, she would have "just thrown my phone into the ocean."