Disney’s iconic tale of Snow White’s beauty is a movie that’s 1937 ideals no longer are acceptable, according to Rachel Zegler, who plays the princess in the remake. In 2025, the movie is now about an independent young woman who doesn’t need a Prince Charming to save her from her troubles. This stirred some controversy for die hard Snow White fans, and a lot of the hate was put onto the lead actress – so yes, the movie did flop, but it wasn’t all Rachel Zegler’s fault.
Bad Press
The obvious, most prominent issue is the fact that actress Rachel Zegler, most known for her roles in The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2023) and West Side Story (2021), seems to have no media training. By describing Prince Charming as “a guy who literally stalks her,” and the movie as a cartoon that “very evidently so” came out in 1937, fans were not too keen on watching a film about a princess described so harshly.
Her critique on the original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs spread to social media and was viewed as her hating on the concept of the film, with people disliking the emphasis on feminism and Snow White’s journey on finding herself.
Adding to Zegler’s hate, the Golden Globe and iHeart Radio Award winner does not match the true Snow White look. Being of Colombian heritage, she faced backlash for not having “skin as white as snow.” By defending herself on platform X, stating how she will not be bleaching her skin for the role, Zegler haters rose to the occasion, deeming her as unfit and too self-assured to play the role, spreading this message across a multitude of platforms.
Political Drama
Gal Gadot, Israeli actress and the Evil Queen of the remake, also received a lot of hate alongside her co-star Zegler. Being from Israel and having served in the Israel Defense Forces, people who stand with Palestine amidst the Israel-Palestine war created additional hate and conflict. Zegler is one of the people who stands with Palestine, and different political views allegedly caused drama between the two actresses, leading to them not doing press together.
Additionally, the movie was even banned and outlawed in Lebanon due to Israeli’s conflict with Hezbollah.
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Over-Usage of CGI
On one hand, viewers regarded the movie as too woke and progressive, but on the other hand, the film wasn’t woke enough. The Seven Dwarves, who hold specific working roles and share a cottage with Snow White after she escapes the Evil Queen, were created with CGI. “It’s going backwards,” claimed actors with dwarfism who had wished to play the roles.
“There’s a lot of hypocrisy going on,” stated Peter Dinklage, American actor with achondroplasia, a type of dwarfism. “I’m just like, what are you doing?” A Latina can play Snow White, but real people with dwarfism could not play the dwarves, simply makes no sense to viewers.
Overall Losses
The movie is being threatened by a monetary loss of $115 million. And while the budget for the film was $220 million, it has only so far grossed $145 million.
Zegler was spotted walking her beloved dog, Lenny, after this financial information was made public. Fans and townfolk photographed and filmed her, criticizing her for acting like all was well as her movie continued to “free fall” at the box office.
However, let this serve as a reminder that Zegler did not write the script. She did not bring the idea of a woke Disney princess into fruition. She simply played the part, albeit taking her character’s ideals to an extreme. There were many other factors that caused the movie to flop, so remember those before putting all of the blame on someone who only played a part in the disaster that is the Snow White of 2025.
Feature image credit: Variety