Rachel Zegler accused of 'gaslighting' after Snow White comments

Snow White star Rachel Zegler, 22, is slammed as a ‘fake feminist’ and accused of ‘gaslighting’ Disney fans as resurfaced interviews show her repeatedly trashing original cartoon

  • Rachel, 22, plays Snow White in upcoming live action Disney remake
  • The West Side Story actress admitted she was ‘scared’ of the original film and branded the storyline ‘weird’
  • Critics on TikTok slammed Rachel for being ‘so smug’ and condescending for her comments about her Snow White ‘not dreaming about true love’

Snow White star Rachel Zegler has been branded a ‘fake feminist’ after several videos of her trashing the original cartoon version of the hit movie resurfaced online – sparking outrage from Disney lovers. 

Not only has the 22-year-old admitted that she ‘hated’ the original 1937 movie, she also described the film’s Prince as a ‘stalker’ and branded the storyline ‘weird’.

Rachel also promised that her version of Snow White is ‘not going to be saved by the prince’ and said ‘she’s not going to be dreaming about true love’.

Several videos of Rachel speaking negatively about the original movie in various interviews last year have resurfaced online, which has led to many people slamming her and some even accused the brunette of ‘gaslighting’ her fans.

In one video that was posted on TikTok last week and has since been viewed over 9.4 million times, user Angie, who goes by the handle @cosywithangie, criticized Rachel for failing to acknowledge that women have the right to pursue whatever they want.  

Not impressed: Snow White star Rachel Zegler has been branded a ‘fake feminist’ following her comments about the upcoming Disney remake

Transformation: The 22-year-old actress will play the Disney Princess in the upcoming live action remake

Dynamic duo: Rachel stars alongside Gal Gadot who will take on the role of the Evil Queen 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=2RVg3yetTE4%3Frel%3D0%26start%3D109

Angie captioned the post: ‘Just because a woman values something different, does not make her any less valuable. Some women want a career and not marriage.

‘Some women want a marriage or family and not a job. Some women want BOTH. All are to be heard, and seen, and valued.

‘Write stories about ALL women and depict them ALL as valuable and worthy, instead of trying to mold them into one specific image of what you deem worthy. Thank you. #snowwhite #snowwhiteliveaction #snowwhitecontroversy #disney,’ she added.

The TikTok post began with a clip of Rachel speaking to Variety back in September 2022, where she clarified what she meant when she said she was bringing a modern edge to the Disney Princess character.

‘I just mean that it’s no longer 1937. She’s not going to be saved by the prince and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love,’ Rachel said.

‘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.’

The video then cut to Angie as she shared and thoughts and argued: ‘I could literally write a PhD thesis on the pseudo feminism that is criticizing Disney Princesses.

‘Criticizing Disney Princesses is not feminist. Not every woman is a leader, not every woman wants to be a leader, not every woman wants or craves power, and that’s okay.’

She continued: ‘It is not anti-feminist to want to fall in love, to want to get married, to want to stay at home, to want to be a homemaker. None of these things make you less valuable as a person or a woman.’

Backlash: TikTok user Angie criticized Rachel for failing to acknowledge that women have the right to pursue whatever they want

Fans divided: Rachel has been branded ‘smug’ and ‘condescending’ for her comments 

Just because a woman values something different, does not make her any less valuable. Some women want a career and not marriage. Some women want a marriage or family and not a job. Some women want BOTH. All are to be heard, and seen, and valued. Write stories about ALL women and depict them ALL as valuable and worthy, instead of trying to mold them into one specific image of what you deem worthy. Thank you. #snowwhite #snowwhiteliveaction #snowwhitecontroversy #disney

Many other people quickly followed in Angie’s footsteps and uploaded their own TikTok videos where they questioned comments made by Rachel.

Speaking again at the Disney D23 Expo in California in September 2022, Rachel said: ‘The original cartoon came out in 1937, and very evidently so. There’s a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird! Weird! So we didn’t do that this time. 

‘We have a different approach to what I’m sure a lot of people will assume is a love story just because we cast a guy in the movie,” Rachel continued, referring to Andrew Burnap.

‘All of Andrew’s scenes could get cut, who knows? It’s Hollywood, baby!’ she joked, before admitting in a separate interview that she was ‘terrified’ when she went on a Snow White ride at Disney World. 

‘I was scared of the original version. I think I watched it once and never picked it up again. I’m being so serious,” she said in the interview alongside Gal Gadot, who plays the Evil Queen. 

‘I watched it once, and then I went on the ride in Disney World, which was called Snow White’s Scary Adventures. ‘Doesn’t sound like something a little kid would like. I was terrified of it, never revisited Snow White again,’ she added.

TikTok user @nuttybutter96 shared snippets of the interview and questioned why Zegler was being ‘so smug’ and captioned her post: ‘If you hate the original this much, why would you want to make the remake. Pls make it make sense…’

‘I don’t think I have ever seen such a condescending, smug Disney Princess ever in my life,’ they admitted in the clip.

Caught out: Rachel was accused of ‘contradicting herself’ when she appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in March 2023

Being honest: Rachel said she ‘hated’ the original Snow White film from 1937

Hitting out: One critic took to Twitter and referred to Rachel as a ‘fake feminist’

More backlash: Another person described the actress as being ‘anti-feminist’ for her comments

Her say: Rachel seemingly responded to the backlash when she tweeted a reminder to ‘be kind’

‘It’s just every single interview I have seen her do for this movie is just so, so smug and condescending. Is she supposed to be uplifting us as women? Because it sounds f**king terrible and I don’t wanna be included in that part of womanhood.’

Another TikTok post shared footage of Rachel on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon back in March where she told him that she said: ‘I get stopped for photos every time I’m in line for the Snow White ride and it is the w…’

In a rather awkward moment, Jimmy replied: ‘Wait, how often are you in line for the Snow White ride?’ to which Rachel quickly fired back: ‘I’m a narcissist!’

The TikTok user accused Rachel of ‘contradicting herself’ because of her 2022 comments about being ‘terrified’ of the ride, and captioned their post: ‘Gurl is gaslighting rn.’ 

The comments on Twitter weren’t much better as one person fumed: ‘sorry can rachel zegler and the rest of fake feminists stfu?’

Another person posted: ‘rachel zegler is honestly deserving of a few lashings bc every interview she confidently thinks she’s being pro feminist but is talking herself into a 180 of just being anti feminist.’

And a third tweeted: ‘rachel zegler is not a feminist, a woman who thinks women are less strong or capable of standing up for themselves because they yearn for love or want to be loved is *not* a feminist in my eyes.’

Rachel seemingly responded to the backlash and tweeted on Friday, August 11: ‘i hope the world becomes kinder,’ before adding a few hours later: ‘i love you very much. forever and ever. remember to be kind. treat each other with patience and empathy. remember that you are loved unconditionally, no matter your mistakes, no matter your misunderstandings. you deserve it. you deserve love. you deserve to live without fear.’

Not happy: The brunette angered people with comments she made on the SAG-AFTRA picket line

Her thoughts: Referring to the Disney film, Rachel said she deserves ‘to be paid every hour that it is streamed online’

When one fan replied and asked: ‘are u also just like. extremely exhausted all the time,’ Rachel responded and said: ‘i am so exhausted. i think it’s over for me tbh.’ 

Earlier this month, Rachel sparked more fury online when she was filmed on the picket amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. 

Dressed in a black SAG-AFTRA T-shirt and speaking to camera, she referenced the upcoming Disney remake and said: ‘If I’m going to stand there 18 hours in the dress of an iconic Disney princess, I deserve to be paid every hour that it is streamed online.

The snippet of the West Side Story actress was shared by the Twitter account End Wokeness, who went on to call her ‘the most insufferable woman’ they have ‘ever seen’.

Rachel’s comments were made in regard to residual checks TV and film actors are fighting for from streaming platforms – currently at the center of the strikes. 

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