Rachel Zegler and a photo of a young Rachel Zegler dressed as Snow White.Photo:rachelzegler/Twitter; Jenny Anderson/Getty
rachelzegler/Twitter; Jenny Anderson/Getty
Rachel Zeglerdoes not want to be involved in “nonsensical” debates over her casting in Disney’slive-actionSnow Whitemovie.
On Saturday, Zegler, 22, took toTwitterto share four throwback photos of herself dressed up as a number of iconic Disney princess characters — and a message asking her fans to avoid tagging her in posts about the anticipated film.
“extremely appreciative of the love i feel from those defending me online, but please don’t tag me in the nonsensical discourse about my casting,” theWest Side Storystar wrote in the post. “i really, truly do not want to see it.”
“so i leave you w these photos,” she added, referencing the four snapshots. One shows shows a young Zegler dressed as Snow White, while three others — dated to May 2005 — show the future actress dressed up asThe Beauty and the Beast’sBelle at a Disney theme park.
“i hope every child knows they can be a princess no matter what,” Zegler finished in her caption.
Zegler’s post got love from another Disney princess inHalle Bailey, who alsoreceived some racist backlash over her casting as Arielin the company’s recent remake ofThe Little Mermaid.
“we love you so much ❤️ truly the perfect princess,” Bailey, 23, wrote in a post onTwitteras she retweeted Zegler’s original post.
Zegler herself commented on her casting, tellingVariety, “Never in a million years did I imagine that this would be a possibility for me. 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.”
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At the D23 Expo last September, Zegler told PEOPLE that she and the filmmakers behind the newSnow Whitemovie “did a really deep dive into fixing and making a modern woman out of Snow White.”
a young Rachel Zegler dressed as Belle from Beauty and the Beast.rachelzegler/Twitter
rachelzegler/Twitter
“I think she’s 13 in the original cartoon, so we started there and said, ‘No, she’s 18 in this one.’ She’s a bit more independent,” Zegler said at the time. “She’s also living in grief. I mean, there was a lot of complex emotion that we decided to deep-dive into. And understanding what it’s like to be a teenager on top of all that.”
Snow Whiteis scheduled to open in theaters on March 22, 2024.
source: people.com
