Rachel Zegler criticises “nonsensical discourse” around racist ‘Snow White’ backlash

18 July, 2023

Rachel Zegler

Rachel Zegler has responded to the “nonsensical discourse” around the upcoming remake of Snow White.

Zegler stars as the lead in the upcoming Disney reboot of the legendary story, which has faced much criticism since its announcement.

After photos reportedly from the set were shared by The Daily Mail this month, many have criticised the casting of Zegler – a Latina woman – in a series of racist comments online.

Taking to Twitter to hit back at the comments, she wrote: “extremely appreciative of the love i feel from those defending me online, but please don’t tag me in the nonsensical discourse about my casting.

“i really, truly do not want to see it. so i leave you w these photos!” she added, sharing photos of her dressed as a princess as a child.

She added: “i hope every child knows they can be a princess no matter what.”

Upon the announcement of the reboot, Peter Dinklage called out Disney for its “fucking backwards” upcoming live action adaption of the film.

The Game Of Thrones actor, who has a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia, accused Disney of double standards for pushing a racially diverse cast while reaffirming harmful stereotypes about disabilities.

Speaking on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, Dinklage said: “No offence to anything but I was a little taken aback by… they were very proud to cast a Latino actress as Snow White, but you’re still telling the story of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs.

“Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there. It makes no sense to me. You’re progressive in one way but you’re still making that fucking backward story of seven dwarves living in the cave. What the fuck are you doing, man? Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough.”

Disney then issued a statement, confirming they’re taking a “different approach” to the dwarf characters in the remake.

“To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community,” the statement reads.

“We look forward to sharing more as the film heads into production after a lengthy development period.”

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