Rachel Zegler has a glass half-full mentality when it comes to the controversy surrounding her upcoming live-action Snow White movie.
During an interview for the March 2025 issue of Vogue Mexico, Zegler, 23, opened up about the public’s response to the reinterpretation of a Disney classic. “I interpret people’s sentiments towards this film as passion,” she said, per translations. “What an honor to be a part of something that people feel so passionately about. We’re not always going to agree with everyone who surrounds us and all we can do is our best.”
Zegler praised the adaptation’s “beautiful, delicate balance between taking the animated classic that everyone knows and loves from 1937” and “introducing it to this new generation,” noting that she can see where fans are coming from with their concerns.
“I understand that the conversation comes from the community not wanting to be seen as a monolith, but the reality of being Latino and working in this industry is that we try to represent the entire diaspora,” she continued. “I know where I’ve been, I represent it in my narrative, and I carry it in my heart every day. No one can ever tell me that it’s not a part of me.”
Rachel Zegler Says Her Snow White’s Name Doesn’t Involve Skin Tone
Zegler’s casting as the Disney princess was quickly met with negativity online after it was announced in 2021. The actress continued to take heat after calling the original version of the story “dated” and claiming the prince “literally stalks” Snow White.
Despite the rocky reception to her starring role, Zegler is proud to portray the iconic character in her own way. “Her superpower is her heart,” she told Vogue Mexico. “There is no supernatural power that Snow White possesses beyond her love for humanity, for all living creatures and her fundamental belief that there is goodness in everything. That’s something I really believe the world could take advantage of more.”
Zegler previously spoke about the social media backlash while participating in Variety‘s “Actors on Actors” in 2022 with Andrew Garfield.
“Never in a million years did I imagine that this would be a possibility for me,” she explained at the time. “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. But you don’t particularly see people who look like me or are me playing roles like that.”
The conversation continued online “for days” following the casting reveal. Of the “angry” people trolling the comments section, Zegler said, “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 stars alongside Gal Gadot, Andrew Burnap and Ansu Kabia in Snow White, which hits theaters March 21.
