Rachel Zegler Says Backlash to Her ‘Snow White’ Reboot Made Her ‘Sad’

Rachel Zegler is opening up about the backlash she faced for starring in the upcoming Snow White reboot.

“In all honesty, it made me sad that it was taken in such a way because I believe that women can do anything,” Zegler, 23, told Variety in a recent interview. “But I also believe that they can do everything.”

After news broke of Zegler’s casting, she was met with outrage by fans due to her Colombian heritage. Zegler went on to say that the live-action film would have a “modern edge” compared to the original one, which was released in 1937. She explained in a 2022 interview with ExtraTV that the remake would not have Snow White “be saved by the prince” nor “dreaming about true love” — instead it would focus on “becoming the leader she knows she can be.”

Zegler clarified her previous comments during her interview. “I would never want to box someone in and say, ‘If you want love, then you can’t work.’ Or ‘If you want to work, then you can’t have a family.’ It’s not true. It’s never been true. It can be very upsetting when things get taken out of context or jokes don’t land,” Zegler explained. “The love story is very integral. A lot of people wrote that we weren’t doing [that storyline] anymore — we were always doing that; it just wasn’t what we were talking about on that day.”

In the original fairy tale, Snow White was given her name due to her fair complexion. Zegler noted that the meaning behind her character’s name in the reboot has a different origin.

“It fell back to another version of Snow White that was told in history,” Zegler said. “Where she survived a snowstorm that occurred when she was a baby, and so the king and queen decided to name her Snow White to remind her of her resilience. One of the core points in our film for any woman or young person is remembering how strong you actually are.”

After Zegler’s casting was announced, she reflected on the opportunity in a separate interview with Variety.

“Never in a million years did I imagine that this would be a possibility for me,” Zegler said in January 2022. “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 live-action Snow White movie hits theaters on March 21, 2025.