The Snow White Disaster: Why Disney Threw Rachel Zegler Under the Bus
How a Scapegoat Became an Icon + A Little Culture Catchup
So, I went and watched Disney’s Snow White so you wouldn’t have to. Partially because I don’t believe in talking about something I haven’t seen, and the other part because, let’s be real, I’m nosy and was curious to see if the movie’s lowest rating of all time on IMDb—a pitiful 1.5 out of 10—was truly earned. Now, of course, that score comes with an asterisk. We’ve all seen how the film got review-bombed by racists and misogynists, with IMDb even noting that their “rating mechanism has detected unusual voting activity.” But oh boy, was it bad. Even the kids in the theater weren’t having it—at one point, I overheard a kid telling his mom he wanted to leave, and we weren’t even 15 minutes in.
Now, I’ll admit, the movie started off not half-bad. For a split second, I thought to myself, "Okay, maybe this won’t be as bad as everyone says." And then—boom. It went downhill fast. But before I go on to drag this movie, I have to give credit where credit’s due: Rachel Zegler as Snow White was the ONLY redeeming thing about this film. (Though, really, they could’ve done something different with that fuck ass bob—I mean, come on.) The plot? Absolutely nonsensical. The Evil Queen, played by Gal Gadot? Let's just say I tried really hard not to laugh at her line delivery. And don’t get me started on the CGI dwarfs—thanks, Peter Dinklage, for making that nightmare a reality.
So, yeah, the film bombed for all the reasons mentioned—and a lackluster press tour that got bogged down by the drama of Zegler vs. Gadot and Disney’s own missteps didn’t help. But here’s the kicker: despite all these blunders, Disney decided to make a scapegoat out of its 23-year-old lead for the film’s massive flop—and it all started with a tweet.
After a promo tweet for the film, Rachel Zegler added a simple line that would send Disney executives into a panic: “and always remember, free palestine.” Five words that would send the studio into a tailspin, so much so that the film’s producer Marc Platt actually flew across the country to have a chat with her.
This was just the beginning of the whirlwind Rachel would face during the press tour. By voicing support for Palestine—a stance that, frankly, shouldn’t be controversial—she was immediately hit with death threats, racial slurs, and online harassment. And instead of Disney standing by her, they let her twist in the wind. They even played into the narrative that her take was “immature” and “inappropriate.” And seeing the writing on the wall that Snow White wasn’t going to be the box office smash they’d hoped for, they let Rachel take the fall.
This kind of story isn’t new in Hollywood. We saw the same thing happen with Melissa Barrera, who was ousted from the latest Scream film after taking a stand against genocide. And despite the studio’s claims of wanting to avoid “political actors,” this is all a bold-faced lie. The hypocrisy is glaring when you compare how Rachel Zegler was treated to how Gal Gadot—who, by the way, proudly supports the Israeli government’s actions—was left untouched. No producers flying out to chat with her. No social media guru to monitor her posts. She’s been able to shout her views from the rooftops with zero consequences.
But here’s the one thing Disney didn’t anticipate: Rachel Zegler wasn’t going to back down. That “free palestine” tweet is still there, standing tall. Zegler’s got more guts than Disney Studios could ever hope for. And while Snow White was a massive loss, let me make one thing clear: without her, that film would’ve been a complete waste of time.
Rachel took all of the online hate and industry blowback like an absolute champ, even recently sharing a video of herself watching the film in a nearly empty theater and having a laugh about it. Honestly, respect.
Disney threw their 23-year-old lead to the wolves for being an outspoken advocate for Palestinian rights, and they never called out their vocal Israeli supporter, Gal Gadot. In doing so, they accidentally created an icon. As hate-filled corners of the internet tried to tear Rachel down, communities rallied behind her. And I, for one, am excited to watch her star soar. She’s already set to make her West End debut as the lead in Jamie Lloyd's revival of Evita—talk about a career on the up.
At the end of the day, Rachel got a fat paycheck, and Disney... well, Disney lost money. So, smiles all around.
Culture Catchup with The Villain
Hey villains, I know it’s been a minute—life kinda threw me off track, but I’m back and ready to get back into the swing of things with you all. I may not have been typing, but trust, I’ve had so many thoughts over the past few months. So let’s do a quick catch-up on some of the stuff I missed talking about.
First things first, Mother is going on tour, and you KNOW I’ll be there (multiple times, because why not?). Now, I shouldn’t even have to explain who Mother is, but in case you’re new here or have forgotten, this is a BeyHive household, and Beyoncé will always be #1.
In MCU news, we finally got a Black Captain America on the big screen, and of course, that came with backlash from a certain type of fan. Apparently, Black people can’t be patriotic? I’m not even gonna entertain that nonsense—BUT, I did write a piece on how Captain America: Brave New World did and did not tackle the complicated, layered reality of Black patriotism. Definitely worth a read.
On the darker side of things, the Trump administration’s fascist agenda—and the Democrats’ cowardly appeasement—has led to the near-collapse of American democracy. Not that I didn’t see this coming at some point, just didn’t think it’d happen this soon, or in such a blatantly ugly way. But hey, we’re at a crossroads in history, and we’ve got the chance to decide where we go from here—so there’s that, I guess.
Now, onto my girl Miley Cyrus—she’s back with some new music and a music film to go with it. She just announced her upcoming project Something Beautiful, with an album dropping on May 30th, and a film following in June. Can’t wait for that. I’ll always be a Smiler.
Meanwhile, the genocide in Palestine rages on, and I need to address something important. Oscar-winning director Hamdan Ballal, co-director of the documentary No Other Land, was kidnapped and beaten by Israeli forces because of his activism and work on the film. No Other Land is a powerful documentary that highlights the daily struggles of Palestinians in the West Bank and the destruction of their villages. The Academy responded to Hamdan’s attack with some weak, hollow nonsense that didn’t even mention his name, and they had to issue an apology after the backlash. Just... wow.
Of course, there’s so much more I could dive into, but this is what came to mind as I was writing. This is what you get for now, but expect more from The Villain very soon.
With all the evil in my heart,
jw