Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Dustin Rowles | Celebrity | March 24, 2025
Whenever I utter the phrase, “I was listening to this podcast” in my home, it’s basically a cue for my children to roll their eyes and exit the room before I can finish the sentence. But since you’ve clicked on this post, you’re now contractually obligated to hear the next part: one of the hosts said something like, “I don’t even remember what the Rachel Zegler controversy is supposed to be about.” (The host in question was Elaine Low on The Ankler podcast.)
Honestly, this is exactly the kind of thing we follow around here. And while I know we’ve written about it a few times, even my own memory of it was fuzzy.
Here’s a quick refresher: Rachel Zegler — who is of Colombian and Polish descent — caught a lot of flak from the anti-woke crowd after being cast as Snow White because, well, she’s not “as white as snow.” The film had already drawn criticism from the cultural left after Peter Dinklage rightfully took aim at the remake for its “f**king backward portrayal” of people with dwarfism.
“Literally, no offense to anyone, but I was a little taken aback when they were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White. You’re still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. You’re progressive in one way and you’re still making that f***ing backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together, what the f*** are you doing, man?” he said on the Marc Maron podcast way back in 2022.
Zegler, for her part, defended both her casting and the film’s updated approach — one that reimagines Snow White not as a romantic lead but as a leader. She criticized the Prince in the original film as weird and stalker-y, and said the OG Snow White was “not the kind of woman I would want to play.”
Those are exactly the kinds of statements that’ll get you canceled by the right, which seems to prefer women be depicted precisely as they were in 1937.
On top of that, Zegler has been outspoken in her support of Palestine — another red flag for the right (and parts of the center, and parts of the left). That issue became even more loaded with the casting of Gal Gadot as the Evil Stepmother, given her vocal support of the Israeli Defense Forces — the same IDF responsible for the deaths of over 50,000 Palestinians.
So yeah, political minefield — not exactly ideal for a family film from a Disney studio trying desperately to avoid political minefields.
Still, I don’t think either the “online left” or the “online right” had much to do with the film’s underwhelming box-office debut. That was mostly due to lukewarm reviews, Disney live-action remake fatigue, and general moviegoing apathy during the first weekend of March Madness. It’s my favorite kind of box-office disappointment: The one that’s just not that good or interesting.
That said, it’s a Disney movie. These things tend to have long legs because no matter how hard parents try to resist, the promise of two uninterrupted hours when the only decision they have to make is which candy their kid can eat is irresistible. These films almost always find a way to make their money back.
The movie will be fine. Disney will be fine. And Rachel Zegler will be fine. In fact, she’s set to make her West End debut as Eva Perón in a revival of Evita in London this fall.
