The rollout of Disney’s live-action Snow White has been anything but a fairy tale.
There’s always a lot to lose by modernizing a beloved classic, in this case the 1937 animated film, but this new take — starring Rachel Zegler as the title character and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen — has been shrouded in controversy for years.
It was first reported that the film was in the works in 2016, with a screenplay written by Erin Cressida Wilson (The Girl on the Train) and uncredited contributions from Greta Gerwig (Barbie) and others. Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man) signed on to direct in 2019. But drama started with the casting of Zegler, whose mother has Colombian roots, in 2021 and unfolded from there from comments the 23-year-old made about making the female character more empowered amid the narrative that Hollywood is too politically correct. The drama was fueled after Zegler publicly shared her personal politics, which conflicted with the 39-year-old Gadot’s.
Then there’s the matter of the seven dwarfs — with Disney using CGI to animate Grumpy, Bashful, Dopey and the gang instead of casting little people in the roles.
Gal Gadot, producer Marc Platt and Rachel Zegler at the world premiere of Snow White in Hollywood on March 15. (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for Disney)
Here are the biggest controversies of them all around the film, from Zegler’s casting backlash to Disney’s scaled-back press tour ahead of the film’s March 21 release.
Zegler’s mere casting drew some bad apples
Much like Halle Bailey playing Ariel in The Little Mermaid, there was a fuss over Zegler being cast as Snow White by some hanging on to the phrase “skin as white as snow.”
“When it was announced, it was a huge thing that was trending on [X] for days, because all of the people were angry,” Zegler told Andrew Garfield during an “Actors on Actors” interview in Variety in 2022.
Amid the initial backlash, Zegler posted and deleted on X, “yes i am snow white no i am not bleaching my skin for the role,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
She told Cosmopolitan in 2024, “There was a lot of harassment [over the casting] from a certain group of people — they were showing up at my apartment and screaming profanities.”
Asked about the casting controversy in the new Allure cover story, Zegler replied, “The reality is, I was given a chance because I could sing.”
It’s been over 200 years since Snow White was published by the Brothers Grimm in 1812, and getting close to 100 years since Disney made it into an animated film. Zegler, born in 2001, expressed excitement that the film — which is certainly dated in parts, as Frozen’s own Anna dared to point out — would be modernizing the story. It’s been a lightning rod for criticism since.
At D23 Expo in 2022, Zegler and Gadot both celebrated that Snow White was “not going to be saved by the prince.” She’s not going to be “dreaming about true love” the whole time, Zegler told Variety. “She’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be.”
Zegler later told Vanity Fair the same year, “People are making these jokes about [our film] being the PC Snow White, where it’s like, yeah, it is — because it needed that. It’s an 85-year-old cartoon, and our version is a refreshing story about a young woman who has a function beyond ‘Someday My Prince Will Come.’”
She’s also called the original film “extremely dated when it comes to the ideas of women being in roles of power.” Zegler told Extra that the 1937 version had “a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird, weird. So we didn’t do that this time.” She also said she was “scared” of the original film, watching it once but never again.
Somehow, Zegler’s excitement over bringing a more empowered version of the character to the screen has made some think she has disdain for the original, when it’s about Snow White’s growth.
“I interpret people’s sentiments towards this film as passion,” she said in an interview in the March issue of Vogue Mexico. “What an honor to be a part of something that people feel so passionately about. We’re not always going to agree with everyone who surrounds us and all we can do is our best.”
Controversy around how dwarfism is represented
With the film and its heroine being modernized, the fact that the seven dwarfs — with names like Dopey — remain has been questioned.
“I was a little taken aback,” actor Peter Dinklage, who has a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia, said on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast in 2022. “They were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White, but you’re still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there. It makes no sense to me. You’re progressive in one way, but you’re still making that f***ing backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together. … Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough.”
Disney addressed the dwarfs issue, saying, “To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community. We look forward to sharing more as the film heads into production after a lengthy development period.”
In Snow White, the dwarfs are created with CGI animation instead of using real actors with dwarfism in the roles, drawing more criticism. The title of the film dropped the reference to them altogether.
Martin Klebba, the actor who voices Grumpy, defended Disney.
Zegler and Gadot’s political views have drawn attention — and fed a feuding-costars narrative
Perhaps Zegler didn’t always help herself. Unhappy about the 2024 presidential election results, the Disney star wrote “F*** Trump” and “may Trump supporters and Trump voters and Trump himself never know peace” on social media. It caused a stir and she apologized for letting “my emotions get the best of me.”
Both Zegler and Gadot have also been criticized for political comments around the war in Gaza.
Gadot is from Israel and has spoken out in support of her country, including recently at an Anti-Defamation League summit on antisemitism, where she said, “I am proud to be an Israeli and I am proud to be Jewish. But this is a time when many of us in the Jewish community have had to find our voice and confront the hatred against us, even if it’s extremely uncomfortable.” A Palestinian group called for a boycott of Snow White because of Gadot’s past political comments.
Zegler has posted “free palestine” on X. She told Variety of the post, “I can’t watch children die. I don’t think that should be a hot take.”
Their political differences have fed into a narrative that the women are at odds behind the scenes. A source told People magazine that Gadot and Zegler have “nothing in common” due to their age difference and “on top of that, their political views differ, adding to the tension.”
Zegler and Gadot, presenting at the Oscars on March 2, reportedly have “tension” between them. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
However, another source told the outlet, “This isn’t like a ‘stay away from me’ situation.” They still work together, and were at the Oscars, but they reportedly aren’t friends.
At an early screening on March 17, Zegler seemed to push back on that, telling the audience, “I love everybody in this movie so dearly.”
The scaled-back press tour raised eyebrows
Disney seems to be trying hard to whistle — “everything’s fine, nothing to see here” — while working to get this film out.
Instead of a traditional world premiere on March 15 with press on the red carpet asking the talent questions, the Los Angeles event was turned into a more Disney-friendly event, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The studio said it opted for “a more celebratory, family-friendly afternoon event to match the tone and target audience for the film.”
Zegler talking to little Disney fans, not reporters, at the world premiere of Snow White. (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for Disney)
The actresses, who mostly posed separately, showcased their fashion — and didn’t have to talk about the dwarfs — while influencers who were invited gushed about the “magical” movie and how Zegler “stunned” in the first reactions to hit online.
The costars have done a lot separately — like Zegler performing “Waiting on a Wish,” one of the film’s original songs, for fans at a castle in Segovia, Spain. Meanwhile, Gadot was at Disneyland solo. Both have been lobbed a lot of softball questions during interviews as well.
At the end of the day, it really comes down to whether the film is good and it does well. While we’ll know box-office numbers in a few days, some journalists from well-known outlets have seen it — and are giving their stamp of approval.
The press tour has taken Zegler and Gadot in different directions. Here’s Zegler on Jimmy Kimmel Live on March 17. The following day, Gadot received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame sans her costar. (Getty Images)
Variety’s Katcy Stephan called Zegler “a shining supernova” and praised her for “beautifully embodying the graceful, gentle nature of the OG Disney princess.” Screen Rant’s Ash Crossan said Zegler “and her enchanting voice are stunning.”
We’ll see if that drowns out the rest of the noise.
