‘Snow White’ backlash explodes: Rachel Zegler, dwarves debate, and a wild Diddy theory

The Rachel Zegler controversy is once again taking center stage as Disney’s live-action Snow White remake faces a disappointing opening weekend at the box office. The film pulled in $43 million—falling $2 million short of the studio’s low-end projections—as backlash from both political sides intensified. From complaints over Zegler’s casting and her pro-Palestinian activism to debates around the portrayal of dwarves and a bizarre Diddy-linked conspiracy theory, the film has been mired in controversy long before its release. Now, its underwhelming debut is fueling renewed scrutiny over whether these culture war battles tanked Disney’s latest remake.

First came right-wingers upset that Rachel Zegler, cast as Snow White, is not, in fact, white. They liked her even less when they found out she supports Palestine. Then the studio cast Gal Godot as the Evil Queen, and Peter Dinklage had something to say about the dwarves. And then things got weird.

Why don't people like Rachel Zegler?

The first thing point of contention regarding Rachel Zegler is she isn't white enough to play Snow White. While her father is Polish, her mother is of Colombian descent, so the actor is not as pale as the original story describes. They can easily fix this with makeup, and they did, but the outrage took on the form of backlash against a movement to increase diversity in film.

In recent years, the public has turned on studios that cast white actors to play characters who rule Egypt or otherwise seem out of place in the setting. In response, in addition to calling any diversity efforts "woke," some conservatives raged against an actress of color taking a role they feel belongs to white people. Few if any are assuaged by the fact that there are still plenty of roles available for this group.

They were also not happy when the actress said in a 2022 interview that there would be some updates to the story, including that Snow White was "not going to be saved by the prince and she's not going to be dreaming about true love."

The backlash got worse after the right found out that Zegler has supported Palestine since 2021. As a part of Artists4Ceasefire, she signed a letter in 2023 urging President Joe Biden to push for an end to the violence.

After the 2024 presidential election, Zegler further irked critics with an Instagram video lamenting a "deep, deep sickness in this country that is shown in the sheer amount of people who showed up for this man who threatens our democracy." She also said President Donald Trump and his voters "should never know peace," which drove the right to accuse her of wishing violence upon them.

Did Disney fire Rachel Zegler from Snow White?

No. This rumor has continued to circulate even though Snow White is out and Zegler is in it. It started on Sept. 25, 2023, when Disney blog "Inside the Magic" posted a headline suggesting the company had "officially" fired the lead actress. The only evidence presented was a single TikTok video from an unverified source, and it's clear which side of the Rachel Zegler controversy they're on.

@user1415853005730 Disney takes first step in making Hollywood great again! Fires actress for lack of professionalism. #fired #disneycomeback #rachelzegler #mostunlikeableactress #backlash @Disney @Walt Disney Animation Studios @Disney+ #lackofprofessionalism #privledge #wokenessnonesense ♬ original sound - Wool&Rustle

Snopes rated the rumor as "unfounded," but they can probably update that to "false" now.

Why does the left hate Snow White?

Liberals and leftists have their own issues with the film. On the subject of the war in Gaza, Gal Gadot has been a target of the left for years due to her enthusiastic support of her birthplace—Israel.

The film also had a hiccup when Peter Dinklage, an actor with dwarfism, questioned whether the new Snow White would address the stereotyping of people with this condition by casting them only as the dwarves and treating them as the original did.

"You’re progressive in one way,” he said, referring to the casting of Zegler as the lead, “but you’re still making that [expletive] backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together."

Disney addressed this by making the dwarves CGI, which nobody seemed to like. Now instead of giving any roles to actors with dwarfism, Disney stuffed the film with nightmare fodder.

The Diddy wedding conspiracy theory

If all this wasn't bad enough, online conspiracy theorists recently saw a clip from the wedding scene where everyone's dressed in white. Some jumped to the conclusion that this was a deliberate nod to events held by alleged human trafficker Sean Combs called "White Parties."

These extravagant parties, held between 1998 and 2009, included a strict dress code of white clothing only. This was reportedly to create "a certain pristine simplicity" for the events, where some of Combs' victims allege they were sexually abused.

It may seem like an extreme risk to take for Disney to reference such a thing, but some X users don't need to see more than white outfits at a wedding.

"So the new Snow White ends with a pervert DIDDY 'white party,'" said user @DrewHLive. "DIDDY used to hold degenerate celeb parties where attendees must wear all white for entry."

"They know exactly what they’re doing here."

Skeptics are already mocking these theories, including user @GianmarcoSoresi, who remarked that they were "just at a wedding and had no idea the bride was giving a nod to Diddy."

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