‘Snow White’ Star Rachel Zegler Apologizes Again After Potty-Mouthed Attack on Trump Supporters: High-Profile Movie Faces PR Crisis

“Snow White” star, Rachel Zegler, is trying to make amends after causing yet another public relations uproar that has further undermined the upcoming Disney film in which she stars. This time, she’s apologizing for unleashing a hateful, post-election tirade against Trump supporters and voters, who she said she hoped “will never know peace.” The attempted apology is just the latest offensive comment from Ms. Zegler, and comes amid reports that Disney regrets ever hiring the star for such a high-profile film. Ms. Zegler, 23, took to Instagram on Thursday night to apologize for her anti-Trump supporter comments, lamenting that “I let my emotions get the best of me” and that “hatred and anger have caused us to move further and further away from peace and understanding.” According to anonymous sources that spoke with the Daily Mail, Ms. Zegler’s remarks infuriated studio executives who had already labeled her a “loose cannon” and “a nightmare.” They, according to the insider, lamented that it was “too late” to remove her from the film, which is set to be released in March 2025. Ms. Zegler’s latest contretemps began when she shared her thoughts on Trump’s electoral win in a long message that she posted on her Instagram story. In her expletive-filled rant, she said she found herself “speechless” in the face of “another four years of hatred” and claimed that Trump’s victory is a testament to a “deep, deep sickness” that exists in America. Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot as they will appear in ‘Snow White.’ Disney“It is terrifying the number of people who stand behind what this man preaches. It is a foolish subscription to a false sense of security, of masculinity, of intelligence, of patriotism, and of humanity. There is no help, no counsel, in any of them,” she wrote, adding, “May Trump supporters and Trump voters and Trump himself never know peace.” She pledged to “love through these four years as best I can” before ending her post with the message: “f*** Donald Trump.” Her sharp comments immediately drew criticism, with the former Fox News star, Megyn Kelly, calling for Disney to drop the 23-year-old actress from “Snow White,” a live action reimagining of the groundbreaking 1937 animated film, which first put Disney on the map. “There’s something wrong with this person,” Ms. Kelly said while guest starring on a conservative weekly podcast. “Hello, Disney, you’re going to have to redo your film again, because this woman is a pig, and you fired Gina Carano for far less than this nonsense.” Gal Gadot and Rachel Zegler appear at the Disney Entertainment Showcase at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event at Anaheim, California on August 09, 2024. Jesse Grant/Getty Images for DisneyA star of the Disney+ hit “The Mandalorian” and an outspoken conservative, Ms. Carano, was sacked by Disney in 2021 after she compared hating someone for their political views to the persecution of Jews during the Holocaust. She, with the help of Elon Musk, is suing Disney for wrongful termination and discrimination. Last month, Disney lost its latest attempt to get the case thrown out, and Ms. Carano’s suit is headed for trial in September of next year.Ms. Kelly continued her tirade, criticizing Disney for putting out a film about Snow White — “a beloved American character” — that stars “a woman who hates more than half the country, the half that just elected Donald Trump?” This latest controversy marks yet another bad press incident for Ms. Zegler in the lead up to the release of “Snow White.” Over the summer, the young actress came under fire for apparently egging on the antisemitic backlash against her “Snow White” Israeli co-star, Gal Gadot, who plays the Evil Queen, by telling her fans to “always remember, free palestine.” Her comment was taken by many as a slight to Ms. Gadot, who was barraged with antisemitic attacks online immediately following the “Snow White” trailer’s release. Some commenters were quick to point out how it was ironic that Ms. Zegler got her big break when famed director Stephen Spielberg — who is both Jewish and a strong supporter of Israel — selected her to star in his remake of “West Side Story.” Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot attend D23 Expo 2022 at Anaheim Convention Center at Anaheim, California on September 09, 2022. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for DisneyMs. Gadot, in what’s believed to have been a subtle response to her co-star’s comment, shared a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. on Instagram shortly after Ms. Zegler’s anti-Israel posting. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that,” she quoted, adding her signature in Hebrew. Ms. Zegler found herself in hot water with the network as early as 2023, when, during a series of interviews, she criticized the Disney classic film for furthering sexist tropes. In one conversation, the actress described the dynamic between Snow White and Prince Charming as “weird” and denounced the original plotline for being focused on “a love story with a guy who literally stalks her.” In another interview she called the story’s plotline “extremely outdated.” Although some took her comments to be empowering and pro-feminist, others were irked by what they viewed as a slight of their beloved movie and an application of “woke” thinking on a medieval fairy tale. Amid the mounting criticism, Ms. Zegler later issued a video apology.Meanwhile, the studio was already fielding concerns that the Brothers Grimm storyline was being “woke-ified” after production photos, leaked to the Daily Mail, showed the “Seven Dwarfs” being played by full sized adult men of various heights and ethnicities, dressed up in fairy tale costumes. The Mail said the movie was going to replace the dwarves with “magical people” to avoid stigmatizing real-life dwarves who are now referred to as “little people.” Actress Rachel Zelger. Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Warner Bros.Disney gave a vague statement in response to questions about the dwarves, which only added fuel to the firestorm of speculation.Around this time, the release of the movie was pushed back to 2025, in part, according to Hollywood observers, to give Disney’s marketing team more time to repair the reputational damage caused by Ms. Zegler’s comments and the brouhaha over the seven dwarves.Eventually the first trailer for the film, which was released over the summer, showed that Disney has chosen to use computer generated dwarves who are obviously animated, rather than hire actors who are little people — a resolution which appeared to satisfy no one. “Replacing the seven dwarfs in ‘Snow White’ with CGI is not ‘progressive’,” wrote Billy Binion in Reason magazine. “Disney said they wanted to ‘avoid reinforcing stereotypes.’ The company’s solution was to take away roles from a group that has almost no opportunity in Hollywood.”Replacing Ms. Zegler at this point, according to Hollywood observers, would mean re-shooting much of the film. And firing a popular star like Ms. Zegler could outrage even more people than those already irritated by her comments or the dwarf imbroglio.

‘Snow White’ Star Rachel Zegler Apologizes Again After Potty-Mouthed Attack on Trump Supporters: High-Profile Movie Faces PR Crisis

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