‘Snow White' problems escalate as Gal Gadot, Rachel Zegler clash
(NewsNation) — As Disney deals with the backlash against its live-action version of 'Snow White' that has been deemed 'woke,' there's another problem behind the scenes.
There's massive tension between the movie's two co-stars, the liberal Palestinian supporter Rachel Zegler and Israeli queen Gal Gadot.
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Gadot — who was devastated by the Israeli attacks on Oct. 7, 2023 — is said to be furious with her co-star for publicly supporting Gaza.
Last August, Zegler posted on X: 'Free Palestine!' — the first of several similar posts on the outlet — and said in interviews: 'I can't watch children die. I don't think that should be a hot take… We're nearing one year since the horrendous attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, but I've been following this conflict for so many years. Like so many people, I'm so heartbroken by the loss of life that we're seeing with these insane death tolls coming out of both regions.'
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For her part, Gadot has held several screenings of the film 'October 8' and footage of the October 7 massacre at her home in Los Angeles for power players and recently appeared at the Anti-Defamation League's 'Never Is Now' rally, where she said: 'Never did I imagine that on the streets of the United States, and different cities around the world, we would see people not condemning Hamas, but celebrating, justifying and cheering on a massacre of Jews… This is a time when many of us in the Jewish community have had to find our voice and confront the hatred against us, even if it's extremely uncomfortable… That's been the case for all of us in every walk of life, in every profession, including my own.'
And it's got to be really uncomfortable for Gadot to promote the movie alongside Zegler.
The two have kept their distance — neither appear in each other's Instagram feeds (although they both follow each other for the moment) — and, despite the duo presenting at the Oscars together, they will keep interaction at the March 15 premiere of 'Snow White' at LA's El Capitan Theater to a minimum.
Even before her X posts, Zegler put herself in an awkward position after being awarded the role by criticizing the beloved original.
As she told 'Extra' in 2022, the animated film was 'extremely dated when it comes to the ideas of women being in roles of power and what a woman's fit for in the world…The original cartoon came out in 1937, and very evidently so. There's a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird. So we didn't do that this time… We have a different approach to what I'm sure a lot of people will assume is a love story just because we cast a guy in the movie.'
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Other comments Zegler has made that offended Disney fans and conservatives include:
Skewering people who were upset by her casting and calling them 'losers obsessed with maintaining the bloodline purity of cartoon princesses.'
Zegler claimed her version of 'Snow White' is 'really not about the love story at all,' a change she deems 'wonderful.' Instead, it's about Snow White's 'inner journey' to 'find her true self.'
After Donald Trump's reelection, Zegler posted in part on Instagram: 'May Trump supporters and Trump voters and Trump himself never know peace.' She apologized for her remarks two days later.
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And now 'Snow White,' which cost Disney over $260 million to make, is set to premiere. But thanks to the controversies Zegler and the directors of the film created, the decision was made to scale back the premiere, and coverage will be limited to photographers and a house crew.
We'll see if Zegler and Gadot actually mingle beyond the mandated cast photos.
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Reps for both of the actresses didn't return emails.
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