Disney’s ‘Snow White’ Rollout Is Unnecessarily Dramatic

There have been lots of small controversies around the film—from Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot's opposing politics to "woke" changes made to the script; all things a major film studio should be able to handle.

By Audra Heinrichs  |  March 17, 2025 | 9:58am
Photo: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for Disney Dirt BagDirt Bag
Disney’s ‘Snow White’ Rollout Is Unnecessarily Dramatic

The live action Snow White premiered in Los Angeles over the weekend, convening its ensemble cast at the El Capitan Theatre amid reports that its two leads, Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, aren’t exactly friends. While there certainly are not a lot of photos of them together, they did appear to go the route of cordial co-workers and at least stood next to each other in group shots alongside the Disney suits. Looking at them, you’d hardly know that in the days leading up to its Saturday debut, the film has been steeped in controversy—from Zegler and Gadot’s opposing views to “woke” changes made to the script.

Last week, headlines regarding Snow White dominated industry outlets, the most shocking being that Zegler’s politics have rendered Disney unable to “know what to do” with her. (Zegler has posted pro-Palestinian sentiments online, and expressed hope that Donald Trump and his supporters “never know peace” following his reelection.)

“Disney’s lead actress is out of control,” a source told Page Six last week. “They don’t know what to do… She’s an outspoken 20-something and Disney chiefs have called her directly and asked her to tone down her posts. They’ve called her management, but she won’t listen.”

“It’s been this way the entire way through filming,” the source added. “But it’s the tying of her politics to Snow White that is upsetting.”

Zegler also refused to sing “Some Day My Prince Will Come” in the film, because her interpretation of the legendary character is a woman who is “not going to be saved by the prince,” as she put it. Of course, that decision didn’t go over well either.

David Hale Hand, whose late father served as the supervising director of the original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, told Page Six that he imagined it would make Walt Disney and his father “roll in their graves.”

“They’ve taken it and moved into the politics of what is woke…” the 93-year-old Hand told the tabloid. “They’re taking a beautiful and beautifully drawn story and destroying what was ‘Snow White.’”

“Snow White is a lovely young woman who has love for her prince and her seven dwarves—she’s not someone brandishing a Palestinian flag,” Hand’s wife, Sandra, added for some reason. Snow White’s only friends are seven working class men without a union and beholden to a vain girl boss but god forbid she be overtly political…

Meanwhile, Gadot’s politics (decidedly not anti-genocide) have remained unquestioned by the suits.

There’s also been criticism regarding the film’s depiction of the seven dwarves, who were ultimately depicted via CGI, and in order to contain all of bad PR, there was no U.K. premiere, and the red carpet at the Los Angeles premiere was scaled back, according to reports.

Meanwhile, Zegler is earning rave reviews, so at least there’s that!

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