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Rachel Zegler RESPONDS to Snow White casting backlash; Expresses her excitement to play a 'Latina princess'
Rachel Zegler offers a heartfelt response to the Snow White casting backlash. Scroll down to know what she said.
Rachel Zegler was cast as Snow White in Disney's live-action version months before Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story" was shown in cinemas. However, the casting news was received with some pushback from toxic fans who were surprised and outraged that an actress of Latin heritage would be playing Snow White.
The development of a live-action Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs film was originally revealed in late 2016, after the critical and financial success of The Lion King remake, with the project finally finding traction in 2019 when Marc Webb signed on to direct. After a few years of dormancy, Rachel Zegler signed on to play the titular character in June of last year, with Gal Gadot joining as the Evil Queen the following November and Greta Gerwig being hired to create a fresh draught of the screenplay.
However, Zegler discussed the Snow White casting uproar when speaking on Variety's Actors on Actors series with Andrew Garfield. The young actress remembers the casting announcement buzzing on Twitter for days due to the intense reaction to her earning the part, and how she intends to utilise the position and response for more good purposes rather than allowing it to affect her. Rachel said as per Screenrant, “Never in a million years did I imagine that this would be a possibility for me. 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. Blanca Nieves is a huge icon whether you’re talking about the Disney cartoon or just different iterations and the Grimm fairy tale and all the stories that come with it."
She further said, "But you don’t particularly see people who look like me or are me playing roles like that. When it was announced, it was a huge thing that was trending on Twitter for days, because all of the people were angry. We need to love them in the right direction. At the end of the day, I have a job to do that I’m really excited to do. I get to be a Latina princess.”
Zegler's sincere answer to the Snow White casting outrage is a very courteous way of addressing individuals who have resorted to social media to voice their dissatisfaction with the up-and-coming Latina actress playing the classic princess.
