Rachel Zegler is Not the Poisonous Apple
Another day, another Rachel Zegler hate train has begun. Imagine having the entire internet, mostly incels and ring-wingers, scrutinise every little thing she says and does daily. She cannot catch a break. Zegler is a talented actor and singer selected to play Maria in West Side Story (2021) out of 30,000 hopefuls who auditioned for the role. She won the Best Actress at the Golden Globe for her debut feature role. She followed up with roles as Anthea in Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) and Lucy Gray Baird in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023), and for each of these roles, she has been embroiled in controversy for comments that sparked huge debates online.
Her latest role is as the titular character in Disney’s live-action remake of the 1937 animated Snow White. It began with problems when Zegler was announced as the titular character. She received a lot of racist backlash because she was a Latina, chosen to play the role of a white character. Also, her comments regarding the movie sparked another controversy that made critics and fans unhappy.
But what is important to know about these harsh remarks against Zegler’s comments about her roles is that the industry’s male counterparts have said the same thing. Jacob Elordi stated that he wanted the role of Elvis Presley in Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla because he needed a job. Zegler said the same thing about her role in Shazam! Fury of the Gods. But guess who was scrutinised for the comment? Ding, ding, ding! It was Zegler. Elordi has also called The Kissing Booth franchise “ridiculous.” Robert Pattinson, who starred as Edward Cullen in the Twilight series, had openly criticised the movies and books (and rightfully so). While social media and critics praised the male actors for their unfavourable remarks, Zegler’s comments about her films had a negative reaction.
In an interview with Variety at Disney’s D23 Expo, Zegler stated that the live-action movie will be different from the original animated movie. She states that Snow White wouldn’t be saved by the prince. Also, she wouldn’t be dreaming of true love. As usual, social media was quick to criticise her. Other Disney actresses like Lily James and Emma Watson have used the same talking points for their roles in Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast, respectively. So, it is ridiculous that Zegler is being scrutinised for repeating the same points that James and Watson have expressed during the press tours.
Moreover, in an interview for Extra TV, Zegler stated that she thought it was weird that Snow White fell in love with the prince who stalked her in the animated movie. She also noted that this will not be included in the live-action movie. Her comments regarding Snow White’s story led to heated debates on social media, and the masses concluded that she was an ungrateful, talentless actress who didn’t deserve to play the role of the coveted Snow White.
Any decision Zegler makes regarding her career is criticised at any point. She is treated entirely differently compared to her male counterparts and that only explains that the hate towards Zegler is also rooted in sexism and misogyny. It’s a double standard that Hollywood has played for many years. Zegler has been in the industry for a few years. She is a young actress with incredible talent in this monstrous industry. She has worked with Steven Spielberg, starred in Warner Brothers’ and Lionsgate’s movies, and finally, in a Disney live-action movie. So, it’s easy for big vulture-like producers in the industry to bring her down for her views on allegedly harmful, political views. Well, that is exactly what happened.
Recently, Variety published an article that accused Zegler of being responsible for the new live-action Snow White movie tanking at the box office. These accusations are one of the latest attacks on her to discredit her talent and possibly blacklist her from the industry because of a tweet she posted right after the movie’s trailer was released. She tweeted, “and always remember, free palestine.” There’s nothing wrong with showing support for Palestine. Any person with a moral backbone would have done this. But big studios like Disney are afraid of repercussions because of its conservative viewership and target young people by accusing them of spreading antisemitism and hatred.
In the article, it states that after Zegler had posted that tweet, Marc Platt, (yes, this is Ben Platt and the widely unknown Jonah Platt’s father, the latter who criticised Zegler’s pro-Palestine comments had “hurt the film”) Snow White’s producer, flew out to New York to talk to Zegler and her team about the ramifications of posting political statements on social media. Zegler, unsurprisingly, refused to take the tweet down. Disney is scapegoating Zegler’s support for Palestine, and the Variety article, too, as the reason for Snow White’s failure. Disney controls the narrative and blames Zegler when the movie had issues before production began, like production delays due to COVID-19 and reshoots.
On the other hand, Gal Gadot, who stars as the Evil Queen (quite fitting for her) in the live-action remake has made several political comments about the genocide Israel has been committing since 7 October 2023. Many reputable sources have debunked the discredited stories of beheaded babies and rape claims, and Gadot has no problem spreading this propaganda to her audience on social media. Gadot has also organised a video collage screening of the October 7 events by Hamas fighters in Occupied Palestine which uses raw footage from the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). She was recently honoured at the Anti-Defamation League with the International Leadership Award. She talked about her deep-rooted connection to Occupied Palestine as an “eighth-generation Israeli.” (Both of her parents are European. That statement doesn’t even make sense because she says that her people weren’t from Palestine minutes before). Of course, she ended the speech by spreading more propaganda and false accusations of pro-Palestinian protestors.
It’s egregious for Gadot to talk about Israel and spread misinformation about the events of October 7, while Zegler is harshly judged for every little move. Disney has made no effort to jump in and shun Gadot for spreading propaganda. Instead, Disney blamed Zegler, and according to the Variety article, they’ve had to increase Gadot’s security after Zegler’s tweet. While Gadot has received a lot of backlash for supporting the Palestinian genocide, she has had no consequences for her actions or comments. In the end, it is Zegler who pays the price for Snow White’s failure. (and not Gadot’s horrible acting).
Zegler’s hate train is similar to what happened to Melissa Barrera in November 2023. Barrera was fired from Scream 7 after she posted on social media supporting Palestine. In a statement to Variety, Spyglass states that they have “zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech.” Barrera was blacklisted from Hollywood, and it seems that Disney is trying to follow the same route with another young and talented actress.
The truth is that Zegler, for most of her career, has been scrutinised for everything she has done. The Variety article has shown that she stood her ground and didn’t back down when Platt tried to intimidate her. The failure of Snow White is not due to Zegler’s comments about Palestine, although that’s what Disney and Variety want everyone else to think. It’s due to Gadot’s continuous support of the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Let’s not forget that she spread propaganda about claims which were debunked a long time ago. These propaganda points are a tactic that Zionists, like Gadot, have falsely claimed Palestinians and their supporters of antisemitism.
However, the strategy to scapegoat Zegler for Snow White’s failures didn’t work; instead, social media users began to admire Zegler for standing her ground and following her principles. This earned deep respect from her fans (and me, although I’m not a huge fan of celebrities) because she didn’t let a big corporation like Disney change her mind. But the Variety article has opened more doors for ring-wingers and incels to spread false information and publications to repeat this narrative over and over again.
With double standards and false accusations of antisemitism, Zegler will be here for a long time. Maybe not in Hollywood but in West End and Broadway to hone her talents, like singing and acting, elsewhere. Hollywood is filled with monsters. The internet is loaded with incels and ring-wingers.
Whether or not Zegler appears in good spirits, they will always find some way to dampen her. She is a talented actress who isn’t letting anyone intimidate and bully her for her principles. It is brave to stand against a big corporation like Disney, (and Jonath Platt’s father who had to leave his grown children behind and fly to New York to talk to Zegler. Oh, how devastating!) and she has proven that she is an icon, a legend, and she is the moment. As Zegler said, “and always remember, free Palestine.”
Donate to the Lebanese Red Cross.
Thread of Sudanese initiatives to donate.
You can also join the BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) movement, a Palestinian-led movement as a form of resistance to Israeli occupation.
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