But that wasn’t the only controversy she’s had to deal with. The next year, in 2022, Zegler found herself in the middle of another backlash after she commented on the original 1937 animated Snow White film. She criticized the film for focusing on Snow White’s love story with the prince, calling it “weird” because of how the prince “literally stalks her.”
More recently, Zegler spoke with Variety about the hate she’s experienced over the last few years and how disappointed she felt that her remarks about the original film were misunderstood. She explained that her comments were not meant to take away from the idea of love but to expand the narrative of Snow White’s character.
She went on to clarify that Snow White can have love and romance but should also be able to pursue other goals in life.
“I would never want to box someone in and say, ‘If you want love, then you can’t work.’ Or ‘If you want to work, then you can’t have a family.’ It’s not true. It’s never been true. It can be very upsetting when things get taken out of context or jokes don’t land,” she added.
“The love story [in Snow White] is very integral. A lot of people wrote that we weren’t doing [that storyline] anymore—we were always doing that; it just wasn’t what we were talking about on that day,” she explained.
Zegler referenced the upcoming elections, saying that we will likely witness similar treatment of women, adding, “Sometimes it can feel like we’re going back; it certainly felt that way when that was happening,” referring to the wave of hate she received in 2022.
“I don’t like to give them the satisfaction of knowing they hurt me in the moment,” she said.
She also mentioned that taking a break from social media can feel like giving those critics power.
“You give them a lot of power by taking a social media break,” she added.
She expressed that she doesn’t waste time trying to understand why some fans are so upset about it.
Instead, she reflected on her own childhood and how different versions of classic Disney characters were completely normal to her.
Disney’s live-action Snow White is set to hit theaters in March 2025, and while the journey hasn’t been easy for Zegler, she’s staying strong and focused on bringing her version of Snow White to life.
