Rachel Zegler, American actress and singer, made her film debut in the 2021 film adaptation of West Side Story. Since her newfound fame, Zegler has been angering fans worldwide for controversial media statements and hot takes on femininity. The overall consensus to “cancel” Zegler began after she made controversial comments about one of Disney’s most iconic princesses, Snow White.
In 2021, Zegler was casted as Snow White in a live-action adaptation of the classic Disney animated film. The film, which is yet to be released, received a lot of backlash due to comments made by Zegler and her co-star in the film, Gal Gadot.
The two stars made comments criticizing the original Disney princess and her need to be saved by a prince.
In an interview with with NBC News Zegler stated, “[Snow White is] not going to be saved by the prince, and 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 and that her late father told her that she could be if she was fearless, fair, brave and true.”
Zegler also made comments regarding her decision to accept the role of Snow White that sent people on social media into a frenzy. Zegler made a statement saying that the only reason she accepted the role of Snow White was because she needed the money.
Zegler’s comments criticizing the integrity of Snow White coupled with her comments claiming to be terrified by the princesses’ story led to hate from opinionated spectators. Many people campaigned for her to be recast and many others pushed for the movie to be canceled altogether. But what we must remember is that Zegler is just a girl trying to navigate the tricky world of stardom.
In the midst of all the backlash, fans were quick to point out that other actors have made similar comments as Zegler in terms of hating on their movies’ universe or why they accepted a certain role.
Twilight star Robert Pattinson has made many comments discrediting and hating on the beloved Twilight saga. Pattinson is known for disliking the Twilight books as well as the movies. He has been very vocal in his hatred for the well-known series.
Jacob Elordi, star of Emerald Fennell’s latest thriller Saltburn, has made comments stating that he only accepted certain roles because he needed money. He also recently played the role of the iconic Elvis Presley in the hit movie Priscilla. Before the release of the movie, Elordi admitted that he had never known who Presley was outside of the children’s animated film Lilo & Stitch.
At the end of the day, Zegler has only expressed her opinions on the different projects she has worked on, like many other actors and actresses often do, so why do they get off scotch free but Zegler is ‘canceled’? Does Zegler deserve the hate she is receiving or are people being too harsh on her?