Rachel Zegler has broken her silence on the controversies surrounding her upcoming live-action Snow White remake which is set to hit theaters next week on March 21.
The West Side Story actress, 23 – who was recently cast in the West End musical Evita – was questioned by TMZ about the criticism towards the movie as she arrived to LAX this week on Friday.
However, the leading star of the Disney film – which is an adaptation of the classic 1937 animation – avoided giving her answer as she swiftly made her way out of the crowded airport.
The outlet asked Zegler how she felt that Snow White was finally hitting theaters and she replied, ‘It feels wonderful, thank you.’
Rachel – who has also been embroiled in drama over her controversial comments on the remake – was then questioned, ‘What would you say to those that are kind of just overly critiquing the film at this point? You’ve worked so hard on it.’
Instead of offering another response, the actress quickly walked towards an awaiting black SUV and hopped inside.
Rachel Zegler, 23, has broken her silence on the controversies surrounding her upcoming live-action Snow White remake which is set to hit theaters next week on March 21; seen earlier this month in Hollywood
However, the leading star of the Disney film – which is an adaptation of the classic 1937 animation – avoided giving her answer as she swiftly made her way out of the crowded airport
Her latest outing comes after it was revealed the U.K. premiere of Snow White will not take place followed by the Hollywood screening on Saturday also being altered by Disney to avoid anti-woke backlash.
Earlier this week, Disney chose to ‘scale back’ the movie’s premiere in Los Angeles, per Variety.
The screening is still slated to be held at the El Capitan Theatre with both Zegler and her co-star Gal Gadot attending. However, it is reported that ‘coverage will be limited to photographers and a house crew.’
Martin Klebba, who voiced the character of Grumpy, slammed Disney for choosing to scale back on the Hollywood premiere.
TMZ reported that the actor – who is also known for appearing in the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise – is ‘seriously bummed and a bit pissed.’
He briefly commented on the controversies surrounding the movie, as well as the political opinions of the leading stars but said it ‘shouldn’t have overshadowed everyone else’s hard work.’
And while talking to The Hollywood Reporter, he further commented on the screening which will take place on Saturday and expressed, ‘It really isn’t going to be a red carpet.
‘It’s going to be at the El Capitan [Theatre], which is cool. But it’s basically going to be a pre-party, watch the movie, and that’s it.’
The screening is still slated to be held at the El Capitan Theatre with both Zegler and her co-star Gal Gadot attending. However, it is reported that ‘coverage will be limited to photographers and a house crew’
And while talking to The Hollywood Reporter, he further commented on the screening which will take place on Saturday and expressed, ‘It really isn’t going to be a red carpet’; seen in 2012 in L.A.
Martin added, ‘There’s not going to be this whole hoopla of, “Disney’s first f***ing movie they ever made.” Because of all this controversy, they’re afraid of the blowback from different people in society.’
Peter Dinklage previously hit back at Disney for remaking Snow White which he labeled as a ‘f***ing backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together.’
Klebba said, ‘I don’t usually get into the political stuff, but I [felt], “Dwarfs aren’t going to go away just because you can’t imagine that they’re there.”
‘We’re still going to be walking around. So I didn’t get the whole stuff about not doing the dwarfs. The story’s been around forever, and it’s a classic.’
It has also been rumored that there is a ‘feud’ behind-the-scenes with Rachel and Gal over their contrasting views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
A source recently told People that the two stars ‘have nothing in common’ and added, ‘On top of that, their political views differ, adding to the tension.’
A large scale premiere would have also taken place at Leicester Square in London, but an insider informed DailyMail.com earlier this month that a decision was made to not hold one for the upcoming movie.
‘Disney are already anticipating an anti-woke backlash against Snow White and have reduced the media schedule to just a handful of tightly controlled press events,’ the source stated.
‘That is why they have taken the highly unusual step not to host a London premiere for the film and are minimizing the amount of press questions that Rachel Zegler gets.’
It has also been rumored that there is a ‘feud’ behind-the-scenes with Rachel and Gal over their contrasting views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; seen in 2022 in Anaheim
Rachel has been embroiled in drama following her controversial comments on the Disney animation.
She sparked backlash after she called the storyline of the film ‘weird’ and also labeled the prince as a ‘stalker.’
In one past interview, Zegler had revealed that the new film would be going in a different direction and said of the character of Snow White: ‘She’s not going to be saved by the prince and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love.’
The star also faced backlash when she was first cast as Snow White as a Latina actress.
In response to the negative reception, Rachel penned in a since-deleted post: ‘yes i am snow white no i am not bleaching my skin for the role (sic).’
It was also revealed that Disney has ‘zero faith’ in the upcoming film and that the movie bosses simply want to get the movie’s limited promo ‘over with,’ per The Hollywood Reporter.
A source said, ‘An advance sales cycle of less than two weeks just screams, “We have zero faith in this thing.” And it couldn’t come at a worse point, when the industry is just trying to limp along to May.’
However, insiders for Disney expressed that they, ‘always intended to hold back the film’s big promotional push until the final few weeks, beginning when Zegler and Gadot presented together at the Oscars on March 2.’
On Wednesday, Rachel made an appearance at a secret premiere for Snow White which was held at a remote castle in Segovia – a city located north west of Madrid.
It was also revealed that Disney has ‘zero faith’ in the upcoming film and that the movie bosses simply want to get the movie’s limited promo ‘over with,’ per The Hollywood Reporter
On Wednesday, Rachel made an appearance at a secret premiere for Snow White which was held at a remote castle in Segovia (seen above) – a city located north west of Madrid
The lowkey European event had 100 VIP guests in attendance which included families and content creators.
Zegler had the chance to sing Waiting On A Wish for the crowd – but was not joined by any of her other Snow White castmates, such as Gal Gadot.
Sources recently informed Page Six that Disney ‘doesn’t know what to do’ with ‘out of control’ Zegler.
‘Disney’s lead actress is out of control. They don’t know what to do,’ an insider told the outlet.
‘She’s an outspoken 20-something and Disney chiefs have called her directly and asked her to tone down her posts. They’ve called her management, but she won’t listen.
The insider added, ‘It’s been this way the entire way through filming. But it’s the tying of her politics to Snow White that is upsetting.’
Late last year in November, separate sources claimed that Disney bosses viewed Rachel as a ‘loose cannon.’
At the time, Zegler had slammed Donald Trump voters – but later issued an apology for hoping that ‘Trump voters and Trump himself never know peace.’
An insider told DailyMail.com, ‘They would love to be able to tell her to stop talking, but it is simply too late. They had talked about removing Rachel from the role several times when it was shooting in 2022.
Sources recently informed Page Six that Disney ‘doesn’t know what to do’ with ‘out of control’ Zegler; seen in 2024 in NYC
‘She is a loose cannon and caused issues during the production because she didn’t agree with how the film plot strayed from the classic movie’s plot.’
They added that before filming, Zegler ‘read the script. If she didn’t like it then she should have not taken it. It wasn’t until after the film was wrapped that she really started creating drama.
‘She has been a nightmare but there is nothing they can do to control what she says. Everyone is well-aware of how difficult she is.’
The source continued, ‘Right now, it is way too late to shelve the film. As much as people think that her recent comments and controversies will hurt the film, it is not likely the case.
‘If anything, it generates more publicity and attention to the film, which leads to increased ticket sales. The film is Snow White, and it could really sell with anyone in the lead.’
While talking to Vogue Mexico, Rachel opened up about the backlash that Snow White has received.
‘I interpret peoples’ feelings about this film as a passion for it. What an honor to be part of something that people feel so passionate about,’ she said, per a translation from Spanish.
‘I interpret peoples’ feelings about this film as a passion for it. What an honor to be part of something that people feel so passionate about,’ she said, per a translation from Spanish; seen in February in NYC
The actress added, ‘We’re not always going to have the same feelings as everyone around us, and all we can do is give the best of ourselves.’
Zegler also told the outlet, ‘I understand that the community doesn’t want to be seen as a monolith, but the reality of being Latino and working in this industry is that we try to represent the entire diaspora.
‘I know where I have been, I represent it in my narrative and I carry it in my heart every day.’
In regards to the 1937 classic and the live-action remake, Rachel explained, ‘It’s very important for the public to know that Disney has found this beautiful and delicate balance between the animated classic that everyone knows and loves from 1937, and at the same time, introduces it to this new generation.’
