11 March,2026 11:50 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Rachel Zegler
Hollywood actress Rachel Zegler spoke about the backlash she faced for playing Snow White in Disney's 2025 live-action remake.
Because of her Colombian heritage, Zegler told Harper's Bazaar, she faced aggressive pushback from conservative circles, who believed that the title role of Snow White must be played by a white woman.
She said the experience was "really confusing," considering she also faced backlash for playing Maria in 2021's West Side Story because her father was white, reports variety.com.
"I was told I wasn't enough of one thing for West Side Story and too much of another for Snow White," Zegler said.
"I grew up proud of being Colombian," she later added. "Eating the food, wearing the dresses, drinking the coffee, doing all the things that were so intrinsic to who I was as a kid and who I am as an adult - but 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."
Zegler also faced backlash for posting on social media in support of Palestine while on the Snow White press tour. Although she still stands by her decision to use her platform to promote social change, she now sees the controversy as "a complete study in intent versus impact."
"You live, and you learn, and there's a caution that comes with that," she said, reports variety.com.
"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."
In 2024, days after unveiling the first trailer for Snow White at a D23 fan event, Zegler took to X and thanked her fans for all their support. Then, in the same thread minutes later, she wrote, "And always remember, free Palestine."
Zegler went on to admit that the backlash from the post was completely unexpected. "If I'd been able to predict everything that would come my way, the threats to my safety, I would have just thrown my phone into the ocean," Zegler said. "I think any sane person would have."
