Disney backlash erupts as fans outraged at 'smug' and 'woke' Snow White star for trashing 1937 classic
Rachel Zegler will play the lead role in 2024's Snow White
PA
Snow White is being rehashed for a 2024 release with 22-year-old Rachel Zegler playing the titular role alongside Gal Gadot as the movie's antagonist.
However, Zegler has come under fire after social media users shared snippets from a number of interviews in which she hits out at the original Disney classic.
In several interviews, Zegler has branded the Prince a "stalker" and has insisted the reimagining of Snow White won't be a "love story" but focus on the character's desires to be a strong leader.
A number of TikTok users have shared the clips online, including one interview snippet with Variety in which Zegler said: "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.
"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," Zegler said, referring to the upcoming rehash.
One user shared the clip on TikTok and blasted: "Criticising 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.
Snow White was first released on the big screen back in 1937
PA
"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."
Another clip that has gone viral of Zegler includes her talking to Extra TV at the Disney D23 Expo in 2022, where she 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," she remarked before laughing out loud and twisting her face to say: "Weird! Weird!
"So we didn't do that this time," she added. "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,"
The man tasked with playing the male protagonist in the film is Andrew Burnap, although Zegler quipped to Extra TV: "All of Andrew's scenes could get cut, who knows? It's Hollywood, baby!"
Zegler has also been accused of hypocrisy after stating she was "scared of the original version" of the film, only to be quoted elsewhere saying she's a Disney super-fan.
She also told talk show host Jimmy Fallon she'd often go on the Snow White ride at Disney World, despite in another interview saying she was "terrified" of the attraction and its themes.
Zegler's hypocrisy has been slammed by a number of users on Twitter as well, with several reacting in the past few days to the actor's resurfaced remarks.
One Twitter user weighed into the discussion: "Rachel Zegler is single-handedly destroying this movie. My TikTok feed is full of ppl on all sides posting about her holier-than-thou crappy attitude is not okay & Snow doesn’t need to be modern. It’s impressive how many people she’s turned against seeing Snow White. Bravo."
A second argued: "The fact that everyone is so unhappy with Rachel Zegler and Snow White shows how *EVERYONE* - not just conservatives - is done with the strong female lead trope. It's overdone and the girls are tired of it."
Meanwhile, a third added: "Rachel Zegler (aka Snow Woke) is one of the most smug new arrivals in Hollywood. She calls the original Snow White prince a 'stalker'. Has she even watched the original movies?"
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Snow White star Rachel Zegler has divided opinions with her take
PA
While a fourth blasted: "Go Woke Go Broke……Actress playing snow white is a woke, feminist that is full of herself. She calls the prince in the story a stalker."
Following the outpouring of criticism, Zegler herself has taken to social media to issue a message of her own.
She penned: "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. x." (sic)
Snow White is set to hit cinemas on March 22, 2024, with Gadot and Zegler joined by the likes of Ansu Kabia, Martin Klebba and Colin Michael Carmichael in the cast.
Its screenplay is co-written by Greta Gerwig who recently became the first female sole director to have a movie grossed over $1billion at the box office for Barbie.