Rachel Zegler GOES OFF on Fans After Snow White Ticket Sales CRASH!
March 31, 2025 – Rachel Zegler, the 23-year-old star of Disney’s live-action Snow White, has unleashed a fiery response to fans and critics alike as the film’s ticket sales plummeted, marking a disastrous debut for the $270 million remake. After a lackluster opening weekend that saw just $43 million domestically and $87 million globally—far short of expectations for a Disney tentpole—Zegler took to social media to vent her frustration, igniting a new wave of controversy. The actress, already a polarizing figure due to her outspoken politics and critiques of the 1937 original, didn’t hold back, accusing fans of “betrayal” and “hypocrisy” in a series of now-deleted posts that have sent the internet into a tailspin.
The Snow White reboot, released on March 21, 2025, was poised to be a triumphant reimagining of Walt Disney’s first animated feature. With Zegler as the titular princess and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, the film promised a fresh, modern take on the classic fairy tale. Instead, it’s become a lightning rod for criticism, plagued by years of pre-release backlash over Zegler’s casting, her comments on the original, and her unapologetic activism. The box office crash—projected to result in a $115 million loss after ancillaries, per industry sources—has only amplified the scrutiny, and Zegler’s latest outburst has turned a simmering PR nightmare into an all-out war with her audience.
The trouble began late Sunday, March 30, when Zegler posted a lengthy Instagram rant—since removed but widely screengrabbed—addressing the film’s dismal performance. “I poured my heart into this, and you all turned your backs,” she wrote. “The same people who cheered me on for West Side Story and Hunger Games are now acting like I’m the villain. Hypocrisy at its finest.” She went on to call out “so-called fans” for boycotting the film over her political views, specifically her pro-Palestine stance and anti-Trump comments, which she claimed “shouldn’t dictate whether you see a movie about hope and kindness.” The post ended with a biting, “Maybe the mirror’s showing you something you don’t want to see.”
Fans and detractors wasted no time reacting. On X, posts ranged from outrage—“Rachel Zegler blaming us for her flop is peak entitlement”—to mockery—“She’s yelling at an empty theater lol.” Others defended her, with one user writing, “She’s 23, under insane pressure, and still delivered a great performance—cut her some slack.” The backlash escalated when Zegler doubled down in a follow-up X thread, also deleted, where she accused critics of “weaponizing” her identity as a Latina actress. “You didn’t hate me when I was Maria, but now that I’m Snow White, it’s a problem? I see you,” she snapped, before locking her account comments—a move that only fueled claims she couldn’t handle the heat.
The roots of this meltdown trace back years. Zegler’s casting in 2021 as a Colombian-Polish Snow White sparked racist vitriol from those who argued she didn’t fit the “fairest of them all” description. Her 2022 D23 remarks, calling the original film “dated” and its prince a “stalker,” further alienated purists who cherished the 1937 classic. Then came her political posts: a “Free Palestine” tweet in August 2024, tied to the Snow White trailer reveal, reportedly triggered death threats against Gadot and prompted Disney to intervene. Post-Trump’s 2024 re-election, Zegler’s “Fuck Donald Trump” Instagram caption and wish that his supporters “never know peace” cemented her as a divisive figure. Disney insiders, per Variety, feared she’d alienated half the audience, and producer Marc Platt’s son Jonah publicly blamed her “immature” politics for the flop in a since-deleted Instagram rant.
The film itself hasn’t helped Zegler’s case. Critics have been brutal, with The Observer dubbing it “toe-curlingly terrible” and The Independent lamenting its “lazy, visually repellent” execution. The decision to replace the Seven Dwarfs with CGI “magical creatures” after Peter Dinklage’s 2022 critique of dwarf stereotypes drew ire from all sides—some for abandoning tradition, others for the uncanny-valley result. Despite this, Zegler’s performance has been a rare bright spot, with Teen Vogue calling her a “shining supernova.” Yet even that praise couldn’t buoy ticket sales, leaving her to shoulder much of the blame.
Zegler’s outburst marks a sharp departure from her earlier response to the flop. On March 21, she posted a heartfelt Instagram carousel celebrating the film as a “life-changing experience,” conspicuously omitting Gadot—a move fans saw as a snub amid their rumored feud. That post was gracious, even optimistic. But as the weekend’s numbers sank in, her tone shifted. Sources close to the actress told Page Six she felt “betrayed” by Disney’s muted support and “abandoned” by fans who’d once adored her. “She thought people would see past the noise and show up for her,” one insider said. “When they didn’t, it broke her.”
Disney’s handling of the situation hasn’t helped. The studio scaled back promotion, skipping a traditional UK premiere and limiting red-carpet interviews at the March 15 LA debut, where Zegler and Gadot were kept apart. After her “Free Palestine” post, executives reportedly enlisted a social media guru to vet her content—a move Zegler allegedly resented. “They wanted her to be a princess, not a person,” a friend told Cosmopolitan. Now, with Snow White hemorrhaging money, Disney’s silence speaks volumes, leaving Zegler to face the fallout alone.
The fan reaction to her tirade has been a mixed bag. Some sympathize with the pressure she’s under—at 23, she’s navigated racism, death threats, and a failing blockbuster with little studio backing. “She’s human, not a punching bag,” one X user argued. Others see it as a career-ending misstep. “You don’t bite the hand that feeds you—or the fans who didn’t show up,” another wrote. Her defenders point to her talent—Golden Globe winner for West Side Story, a standout in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes—and argue she’s being scapegoated for Disney’s miscalculations. Critics, though, say her inability to read the room has sealed her fate.
Where does Zegler go from here? Her next move—a West End stint in Evita this summer—offers a chance to pivot to theater, where her vocal prowess might win back goodwill. A recent BBC CBeebies Bedtime Story gig, airing March 28, shows she’s not entirely out of favor. But the Snow White fiasco has bruised her Hollywood stock. Industry insiders whisper she’s “too hot to handle” for big studios now, with one telling Deadline, “Talent’s there, but the baggage is heavy.” Her fans, though, remain defiant, flooding X with “#WeStandWithRachel” posts.
Zegler’s outburst may have been a cry of frustration, but it’s also a gamble. By going off on fans, she’s betting her authenticity will outshine the backlash—a risky play for a star at a crossroads. As Snow White fades from theaters, the real question lingers: can she rewrite her own story, or has this poisoned apple spelled the end? For now, the internet’s watching, and the clock’s ticking.
