Rachel Zegler sparks fan fury with mysterious Evita exit halfway through London show
The 24-year-old star of the 'woke' Snow White remake fell ill during the show at London's Palladium theatre - with her departure announced at intermission, per People.
Following a brief pause, her understudy Bella Brown, who played Perón's Mistress in the musical, took on the Evita role for act 2 - which begins with Don't Cry for Me Argentina.
Zegler, who has won rave reviews for her Evita portrayal, will return to the stage tonight, Friday 25th July for the evening performance, her representative confirmed to DailyMail.com.
One fan wrote on social media: 'Rachel zegler ruining everything she's a part of still.'
Others penned: 'Give her a job at McDonalds. It's clear this woman isnt cut out for entertainment. Stop giving her charity.
'The understudy is better. No shock.
I'd give her a standing ovation if she would just leave.
Always one bus stop away from knocking it out of the park with this one.
On Broadway they would be demanding their $ back. So apparently woke Snow White is creating box office disasters on two continents.
Shame, despite her many missteps and foibles, she seemed to doing a good job by all accounts at this at least.
Others sent well wishes for the star, writing: 'Hope she's okay.'
Most probably a health issue. I have watched the show and her performance is excellent, both vocals and acting. Actually, she saves a show that lacks narrative coherence and direction generally fails to make the audience emotionally attached.
Rachel is playing former First Lady of Argentina Eva Peron in the show, which debuted in 1978 and was written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Fans were left furious with the star over her abrupt exit
The play follows her rise from a poor background to becoming a powerful political figure and cultural icon in Argentina.
Following the announcement earlier this year, Rachel gushed: 'Evita has been such an important musical to me since I was a little girl, when my dad and I would sing Don't Cry for Me Argentina together on my back patio.
'The opportunity to bring Jamie Lloyd's singular, visionary ideas to life onstage is an honour unlike any other. The stage has always felt like home to me, and I can't wait to make my West End debut in such great company.'
So far, Zegler is best known for the box office flop Snow White.
Prior to its release, Snow White was mired in controversy due to comments from Zegler and the absence of the iconic song 'Someday My Prince Will Come.'
In an effort to be more progressive, Disney also changed the dwarves to be called 'magical creatures.'
Critics of the remake first jumped on Disney for the decision to cast Zegler in the role due to her Colombian ancestry.
The original fairytale revealed that the princess is given her name because her skin is 'as white as snow.'
At the time, Zegler said that the origin story had changed, and in Disney's new version the princess earns the name due to a snowstorm she survived as a child.
She then came under fire for criticizing original animation when she called it 'dated' during a red carpet interview with Extra TV in 2022.
She eventually walked back her comments and assured fans that the love story would be 'integral' to the remake's plot.
Disney fans then expressed discontent at Zegler when she said she was 'scared' of the original version as a child and only watched it one time.
Although the Disney remake has been widely considered a flop, Rachel has already lined up next role.
She will be starring opposite Marisa Tomei, 60, of My Cousin Vinny fame, in her next movie role.
In the upcoming comedy-drama She Gets It From Me, Zegler will play the daughter of the Tomei's wild, unruly and free-spirited character, according to the synopsis reported by Variety.
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