Snow White’s Live-Action Controversy

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Did you ever have a favorite Disney Princess growing up? Did she have the ability to communicate with animals, and sing to a wishing well about one day finding her true love? Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first full-length animated feature film ever, and it completely changed the animation industry ever since its release back in 1937. Since then, Snow White’s story has sparked lots of inspiration in the media, with the character being used in various movie and book plots that relate back to its original tale. Snow White has been a unique fairytale from the growing Disney Princess franchise, but with the announcement of the  live action movie being in the works, more people have become interested in the story and character. 

Rachel Zegler, a Colombian-American actress whose career recently sky-rocketed from her latest works as Maria in the West Side Story remake and Lucy in the upcoming Hunger Games movie, was revealed to play Snow White in the upcoming remake and has since received mountains of backlash for a few different reasons. Interviews of Zegler show her explaining the new and modernized version of the Snow White tale, saying how different this new film will be and her history with the story. In an interview with Variety at the Disney Fan Club’s D23 Expo, Zegler receives numerous   questions about the modernity brought to the Snow White story. Zegler says, “I just mean that it’s no longer 1937. We absolutely wrote a Snow White that... she’s not going to be saved by the prince, she’s not going to be dreaming about true love; she’s going to be dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be and that her late father told her that she could be if she was fearless, fair, brave, and true.” 

This response sparked tons of hate and criticism on Zegler and the movie, with people dubbing this movie as performative feminism. People argue that not every woman wants to become a leader or crave power, and that women who dream of true love like Snow White’s are put down by this alternative. As quoted on NBC News by a TikTok user, “the whole thing with art and artistic expression is that there should be diverse characters, and when every female character has a feminist icon stamp on her, the whole movie industry becomes boring.” On the contrary, others find the backlash towards Zegler unnecessary. Coming to Zegler’s defense on NBC News, another TikTok user says, “...I think Rachel’s a smart, beautiful, talented woman. I think she could go very, very far if she listened to the criticism, not the hate.” Some argue that Zegler just hasn’t received the proper media training for Snow White, and that despite her own remarks of being afraid of the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs franchise, Rachel Zegler still landed the role.