Will Disney really cut Snow White star Rachel Zegler from future projects? Speculations explored

As the live-action Snow White movie continues to underperform at the box office, rumors are circulating on the internet that the movie's star, Rachel Zegler, has been cut from future Disney projects. However, it is important to note that nothing is official as of now, meaning that despite the popular narrative, she has not been officially removed from future Disney projects.

That does not mean, however, that everything is smooth sailing for the Snow White star. Her outspoken political statements on social media are being blamed for the movie's underperformance. This was even alluded to in a Variety report published by Executive Editor of Film & Media, Tatiana Siegel. The report supposedly detailed behind-the-scenes incidents.

According to the report, Disney had to pay for additional security for Israeli actress Gal Gadot to protect her from potential attacks following Zegler's public support for Palestine. But even before this incident, the 2025 Snow White live-action remake had a tumultuous journey to the big screen. This is why rumors are circulating that she has been cut from future Disney projects, even if nothing is official for now.

What happened behind the scenes of Snow White?

In June 2021, West Side Story actress Rachel Zegler was cast as Snow White in the live-action remake of the 1937 animated Disney classic. Critics of this casting argued that the original story described Snow White’s complexion as fair, and thus, many people were unwilling to support the movie due to what they saw as deviations from a beloved story.

Then, in September 2022, Zegler drew public ire for comments made to Extra TV, in which she described Prince Charming as a stalker and called the original animated movie "dated." Her exact comments were:

"The original cartoon came out in 1937 and very evidently so. There’s a big focus on her love story with the guy who literally stalks her. Weird, weird, so we didn't do that this time.”

While certain vocal sections of the internet continued to criticize the live-action remake and Rachel Zegler, the general public did not have strong opinions about her or the film. However, the most significant moment in the movie’s journey came with the release of its first teaser on August 10, 2024.

Two days later, Zegler thanked fans for their support, noting that the teaser had received 120 million views within 24 hours. However, approximately a minute later, she posted on X (formerly Twitter):

“And always remember, free Palestine.”

This post received 8.8 million views, and people within Disney reportedly expressed concerns over her political statement. One of Snow White's producers, Marc Platt, even flew to New York personally to reprimand her for her social media posts. However, Zegler stood her ground and refused to delete her post, which remains publicly available. This event was indirectly confirmed by Marc Platt's son, Jonah Platt.

In one of Jonah Platt's Instagram posts, a commenter described Marc Platt's attempts to control Zegler's social media as "creepy" and an infringement on free speech. Jonah replied:

“Yeah, my dad, the producer of enormous piece of Disney IP with hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, had to leave his family to to fly across the country to reprimand his 20 year old employee for dragging her personal politics into the middle of promoting the movie for which she signed a multi-million dollar contract to get paid and do publicity for. This is called adult responsibility and accountability. And her actions clearly hurt the film’s box office. Free speech does not meant you’re allowed to say whatever you want in your private employment without repercussions. Tens of thousands of people worked on that film and she hijacked the conversation for her own immature desires at the risk of all the colleagues and crew and blue collar workers who depend on that movie to be successful. Narcissism is not something to be coddled or encouraged.”

He has deleted this reply now, though.

Is Rachel Zegler responsible for Snow White's failure?

In one word—no. The reviews for the movie were already negative. In fact, many reviewers, despite their criticisms of the film, cited Rachel Zegler as the best part of it. Even the harshest critics of the movie acknowledged her performance positively. The film’s failure is more likely due to audience disinterest in paying to watch a story they already know.