Rachel Zegler is backtracking on her comments about how she didn’t like Disney’s original Snow White.
The actress is set to star in the new live-action movie that recently saw a big delay, with the trailer release said to have also been canceled.
Rachel Zegler appeared on Variety‘s Actors on Actors series with fellow Disney star Halle Bailey who played The Little Mermaid.
Reverses course following big delay
While addressing the online hate (“Stay grateful and ignore the hate,” said Bailey), Halle Bailey mentioned to Zegler, “…Being an amazing Latina woman as Snow White. You are opening so many doors for your whole community as well. What has that felt like? Is it pressure?”
Rachel Zegler responded and had only positive things to say about the original 1937 animated movie.
“The cartoon is so beloved. It was the first feature-length cartoon movie. It won honorary Oscars. And all these amazing things that happened for that film are the reason that you and I get to sit here today, because it made Disney what it is,” she said. “Obviously, that’s come with a lot of pressure that I’ve put on myself. Much like ‘Hunger Games,’ there’s a very dedicated group of people who love Disney cartoons. I’m one of them. I love everything that the Disney Co. has put out in the past 100 years.”
Halle Bailey: “So we just stay graceful and ignore the hate. Hello!” #ActorsOnActors https://t.co/anCpFtPCw2 pic.twitter.com/XNq1RVQfBe
— Variety (@Variety) December 7, 2023
Scared, Terrified, Stalker, Weird
Rachel Zegler’s comments are in stark comparison to her recent comments.
In interviews, she said she was scared of the original animated movie, she only watched it once and never again, that she was so terrified of the ride that so never liked anything Snow White since, called Prince Charming a stalker, said it’s weird, and said her character won’t fall in love and instead will be a leader.
– “I was scared of the original version. I think I watched it once and never picked it up again. I’m being so serious. I watched it once, and then I went on the ride in Disney World, which was called ‘Snow White’s Scary Adventures.’ Doesn’t sound like something a little kid would like. I was terrified of it, never revisited Snow White again.”
– “The original cartoon came out in 1937, and very evidently so. There’s a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird! Weird! So we didn’t do that this time.”
– “We have a different approach to what I’m sure a lot of people will assume is a love story just because we cast a guy in the movie. All of [Andrew Burnap’s] scenes could get cut, who knows? It’s Hollywood, baby!”
“I just mean that it’s no longer 1937. 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.”
Snow White has been delayed from March 22, 2024 to March 21, 2025; the film is directed by Marc Webb and also stars Gal Gadot.
