Snow White (Rachel Zegler) sashays through the forest in Snow White (2025), Disney
According to the star of the upcoming live-action remake Rachel Zegler, not only did critics intentionally misinterpret her previous criticisms of Disney’s original animated Snow White, but they also did so due to their own inherent misogyny.

Snow White (Adriana Caselotti) attempts to flee from The Hunstman (Stuart Buchanan) in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Disney
As readers may recall, asked by Extra’s Katie Krause during the 2022 D23 Expo, “I know you told me before that your version of Snow White is different and its more of a 2022 version of Snow White. What did you mean by that?”

In turn, Zegler explained, “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 like we cast a guy in the movie, Andrew Burnap, great dude,” continued the actress. “It’s one of those things that I think everyone’s going to have their assumptions about what it’s actually going to be, but it’s really not about the love story at all, which is really, really wonderful. And whether or not she finds love along the way is anybody’s guess until 2024. All of Andrew’s scenes could get cut out. Who knows? It’s Hollywood, baby!”

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Providing even more information as to her adaptation’s direction during an August 2023 with Variety, Zegler further detailed, “The reality is that the cartoon was made 85 years ago and therefore it’s extremely dated when it comes to the ideas of women being in roles of power and what a woman is fit for in the world. And so when we came to reimagining the actual role of Snow White it became about the fairest of them all meaning who is the most just. And who can become a fantastic leader.”

“And the reality is, you know, Snow White has to learn a lot of lessons about coming into her own power before she can come into power over a kingdom,” she added.

Rachel Zegler & Gal Gadot on Remaking ‘Snow White’ | Entertainment Weekly

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And while many walked away from these interviews having understandably taken her words as direct critiques of the original Snow White story’s entire identity, Zegler claims that this read could not be further from the truth.

Reflecting on the discourse during a recent interview with Variety’s Selome Hailu and Katcy Stephen, Zegler recalled. “In all honesty, it made me sad that it was taken in such a way, because I believe that women can do anything. But I also believe that they can do everything [emphasis hers].”

“I would never want to box someone in and say, ‘If you want love, then you can’t work,’” she said. “‘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 says. “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.”

Jonathan (Andrew Burnap) and Snow White (Rachel Zegler) are interrupted from sharing a kiss in Snow White (2025), Disney
To this end, the actress then opined that while she wasn’t a fan of the backlash, she felt that it was part and parcel of being a woman in a public-facing role – as described by Hailu and Stephen, “Zegler’s not surprised by what she sees as people’s willful misunderstanding of her comments. It’s par for the course for an outspoken young woman in the public eye.”

“I’ve watched women get torn down my whole life, my whole career,” Zegler told her hosts. “We’ll watch it in the election that’s upcoming. We’re gonna witness that for a long time, I fear. Sometimes it can feel like we’re going back; it certainly felt that way when that was happening.”

Offering one final comment on the matter, the Shazam! Fury of the Gods actress said that despite the constant stream of critiques, she has no intention of truly leaving social media.

“I don’t like to give them the satisfaction of knowing they hurt me in the moment,” she said. “You give them a lot of power by taking a social media break.”
Ventus (Jesse McCartney) offers his assistance to Snow White (Carolyn Gardner) in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep (2009), Square Enix
Notably, this is not the first time that Zegler has tried to clarify (or rather backpedal) her past comments.

Speaking to fellow Disney actress Halle Bailey for Variety’s Actors on Actors interview series, Zegler likewise discussed the backlash to her comments.

“The cartoon is so beloved It was the first feature-length cartoon movie,” she told her fellow Disney star. “It won honorary Oscars. And all these amazing things that happened for that film are the reason that you and I get to sit here today, because it made Disney what it is. Obviously, that’s come with a lot of pressure that I’ve put on myself. Much like Hunger Games, there’s a very dedicated group of people who love Disney cartoons. I’m one of them. I love everything that the Disney Co. has put out in the past 100 years.”

Halle Bailey & Rachel Zegler | Actors on Actors | Variety

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At present, the live-action, Zegler-led Snow White is currently on track to whistle while it works on March 21st, 2025.