Blaming a young actress for the failure of a massive Disney project is easy. But ‘Snow White’ is failing on its own.
Rachel Zegler on Disney films
“Snow White” star Rachel Zegler tests her Disney movie knowledge in this fun trivia game with USA TODAY
The new “Snow White” movie had a lackluster opening weekend last week, but don’t blame lead actress Rachel Zegler for that, even if it seems everybody else will.
In August, Zegler included a “free Palestine” post on an X thread thanking people for watching the “Snow White” trailer. Everyone promptly lost their minds, with producer Marc Platt even flying to New York to reprimand Zegler for this and a separate comment she made about supporters of Donald Trump.
In a since-deleted Instagram comment, the producer’s son attributed Zegler’s comment to “immature desires,” saying she “clearly hurt the film’s box office.”
“My dad, the producer of (an) enormous piece of Disney IP with hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, had to leave his family to fly across the country to reprimand his 20 year old employee for dragging her personal politics into the middle of promoting the movie for which she signed a multi-million dollar contract to get paid and do publicity for,” Jonah Platt wrote.
Now, other people are trying to blame Zegler for the movie’s underperformance at the box office on opening weekend, despite critics saying she’s one of the only good things about the film.
Zegler, for her part, has refused to delete the post. Her defiance is brave and important, especially considering the racist harassment she was already facing. In the face of intense backlash, she is standing with the Palestinian people.
I don’t understand why that’s so controversial.
Rachel Zegler isn’t alone in expressing her views on Gaza
Meanwhile, Zegler isn’t the only member of the cast talking about what’s happening in Gaza. Her co-star Gal Gadot has expressed her support for Israel consistently since the Hamas terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. Gadot, an Israeli who served in the Israel Defense Forces for two years, spoke to Variety about her decision to continue speaking out.
“On October 7th, when people were abducted from their homes, from their beds, men, women, children, elderly, Holocaust survivors, were going through the horrors of what happened that day, I could not be silent,” Gadot said.
I’m glad she is voicing her opinion, why is it OK for one actress to speak about her political stances on the “Snow White” press tour but not the other? Zegler made a single post. She isn’t out in the streets protesting in her Snow White costume, nor has she said anything else on the press tour about Israel’s destruction of Gaza. If Gadot is allowed to speak her mind, why can’t Zegler?
Zegler is just saying what Gen Z firmly believes
It’s important to remember that Zegler’s sentiments align with what we know about Generation Z’s opinions on the conflict. Polls have consistently shown that millennials and Gen Z are more likely to support the Palestinian people than other generations. Thousands of students across the country have protested the war and the killing of more than 50,000 Palestinians.
It’s not like Zegler is saying she supports Hamas; she’s just expressing support for the people being killed by the conflict. It’s separation that it seems many have trouble making.
There are so many voices that have spoken up for Israel over the past year and a half. Both major U.S. political parties support Israel. Zegler, like many of us who support the Palestinian people’s right to exist, has no actual power to change U.S. foreign policy or persuade institutions to divest from Israel. She is a threat to nobody.
I can’t help but wonder if the backlash would be as intense if Zegler, 23, were not young, Latina or a woman. I can tell you from personal experience that all three things will make you a target if you choose to speak your mind.
I’m proud of Zegler for standing her ground and not deleting the post. There could be long-term effects on her career; if Disney’s reaction is any indication, there probably will be. But she is doing what she believes is right and speaking up against the slaughter of innocent civilians. She does not deserve the hate she’s receiving.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Pequeño on X, formerly Twitter: @sara__pequeno
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