‘Snow White’ reboot star responds to backlash over her comments criticizing original 1937 film: ‘Made me sad’

The star of Disney’s live action “Snow White” reboot, Rachel Zegler, is defending herself from backlash she received after calling out the “weird” love story in the original animated film years ago.

In a new interview with Variety, Zegler accused her critics of taking her comments “out of context” after interview footage from 2022 featured her chiding the original movie as old-fashioned in its depiction of romance between Snow White and the prince that saved her.

“In all honesty, it made me sad that it was taken in such a way, because I believe that women can do anything. But I also believe that they can do everything,” she told the Hollywood outlet.

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In the 2022 clip from the Disney D23 Expo that year, Zegler commented on her film adaptation of the classic fairy tale being more modern. 

“I just mean that it’s no longer 1937,” she said at the time, adding, “She’s not going to be saved by the prince and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love. She’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be and the leader that her late father told her that she could be if she was fearless, fair, brave and true.”

Elsewhere, she commented that some parts of the original film were “weird” and that said the prince “literally stalks” Snow White.

Fans of the original Disney “Snow White” and other cultural commentators slammed Zegler’s desire for a version of the classic story with modern gender norms shoehorned into it. The actress has since become the subject of mockery and Disney’s upcoming film – out in 2025 – has been written off by many movie fans online.

In her recent interview, Zegler explained that she never intended her comments to be offensive, stating that she just meant the classic Disney character has goals in addition to falling in love with the prince.

She said, “I would never want to box someone in and say, ‘If you want love, then you can’t work.’ Or ‘If you want to work, then you can’t have a family.’ It’s not true. It’s never been true. It can be very upsetting when things get taken out of context or jokes don’t land.”

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The actress also denied allegations that Disney was going to update the love story for the modern era. “The love story is very integral. A lot of people wrote that we weren’t doing [that storyline] anymore — we were always doing that; it just wasn’t what we were talking about on that day.”

As she continued, Zegler suggested that her comments were taken out of context by people who want to tear down famous women. Variety stated, “Zegler’s not surprised by what she sees as people’s willful misunderstanding of her comments. It’s par for the course for an outspoken young woman in the public eye.”

The actress added “I’ve watched women get torn down my whole life, my whole career. We’ll watch it in the election that’s upcoming. We’re gonna witness that for a long time, I fear. Sometimes it can feel like we’re going back; it certainly felt that way when that was happening.”

In addition to the “Snow White” controversy, Zegler also sparked outrage for an anti-Israel statement she shared to X in August.

After thanking her fans for tuning into the first trailer of the “Snow White” film online, she added, “and always remember, free palestine.”