Snow White controversy: Timeline of the events that led to the backlash

Disney's 2025 musical fantasy flick Snow White has been marred with controversies even before its theatrical release. Marc Webb directed the film, while Erin Cressida Wilson penned the screenplay. The film had its world premiere at the Alcázar of Segovia on March 12, which is a castle in Spain.

The live-action adaptation of the 1937 animated film will be released theatrically on March 21, 2025, by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. But before the film could hit the silver screens, it surrounded itself with controversies for which it has received backlash. So, let's explore the timeline of all the controversies surrounding the upcoming film.

All the Snow White controversies explained

Starting from the most recent one, Variety reported in March 2025 that the makers of the film have decided on a relatively small Hollywood premiere amid all the controversies. The premiere will be taking place on March 15, 2025, at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles. This will include a screening and a pre-party activity. Unlike their previous premieres, Disney has decided not to invite all the media. It will only have photographers and crew members.

In the year 2022, it was announced that Rachel Zegler, who has Latina roots, is playing the titular character. The controversy has erupted as the character in the original fairy tale is described to have a snow white skin.

Defending her casting, Zegler spoke to Variety the same year, where she said,

“You don’t normally see Snow Whites that are of Latin descent. Even though Snow White is really a big deal in Spanish-speaking countries. [..] But you don’t particularly see people who look like me or are me playing roles like that."

Around the same time in 2022, Snow White received flak from Peter Dinklage for having dwarves in the story. He called out Disney for trying to be progressive with the titular character's casting while showing Dwarves living in a cave. In response, the studio stated that they are in touch with the dwarfism community to make sure the film doesn't border on stereotypes.

The casting of the dwarves also faced backlash as users on the internet found out that only one of the actors had dwarfism. In 2023, more controversy came the film's way when Zegler said that Snow White would be more feminist than the original 1937 film. The actress defended her comments after facing criticism.

In 2024, the actress also expressed her views on X regarding her stand on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Meanwhile, Gal Gadot (who plays Evil Queen) is an Israeli and supports her native country in the conflict, as per Forbes.

Post the 2024 Presidential elections, Zegler put out several Instagram stories criticizing Donald Trump and his supporters.