When a major Hollywood movie tanks, the spotlight on its lead can get uncomfortably harsh — and Snow White star Rachel Zegler knows that feeling all too well.
After the 2025 live-action remake of Disney’s classic Snow White flopped at the box office, Rachel found herself at the center of a storm that tested both her mental health and public image.
A Box Office Bust That Took a Personal Toll
The ambitious remake, which cost Disney a whopping $270 million, ended up being one of the studio’s biggest disappointments in recent memory — earning only $69 million domestically.
The film’s radical changes to the original 1937 story — from scrapping the traditional love story to reimagining the Seven Dwarfs as magical beings of diverse genders and races — sparked intense backlash.
And for many critics and fans, Rachel became the face of the controversy.
“I Wasn’t Functioning” – Zegler Shares Raw Experience
In a deeply personal interview with i-D magazine, Rachel, 24, opened up about just how much the pressure and criticism affected her.
“My f***ing psychiatrist has seen me through all of it,” she said, revealing she had to start medication for anxiety.
“It was a game changer,” she added.
“I just wasn’t functioning. And I wanted to function in a way that made me feel confident in the way I was moving through the world.”
One of the turning points came when her therapist reminded her that what she was experiencing wasn’t normal — and that validation alone helped her begin to heal.
Choosing Light Over Negativity
Despite the heavy scrutiny, Rachel said she refuses to fall into a victim mindset.
“I think a victim mindset is a choice, and I don’t choose it,” she explained.
Instead, she’s focused on staying positive.
“I choose positivity and light and happiness… and every day I wake up and think, I’m lucky to live the life I live.”
The Controversy That Wouldn’t Let Go
From the moment she was cast, Rachel faced backlash over not fitting the physical description of the original character — famously described as having “skin as white as snow.”
Rachel, who is of Colombian and Polish descent, tried to offer a new interpretation, saying in the remake the name Snow White came from surviving a blizzard as a child.
But things got worse when she publicly criticized the original 1937 film, calling it “dated” and labeling the prince’s behavior as “weird” and stalker-like.
“So we didn’t do that this time,” she said during a red carpet interview back in 2022.
Eventually, she walked back the comments, promising that romance would still play a role in the new version.
A Perfect Storm of Online Backlash
The criticisms didn’t stop with Rachel. Gal Gadot, who played the Evil Queen, also found herself in hot water due to her outspoken support for Israel during the Gaza conflict.
Rachel, on the other hand, voiced her support for Palestine — further polarizing public opinion around the film.
Even Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage weighed in, slamming the remake for what he saw as hypocritical attempts at modernizing the story while still relying on outdated tropes.
“You’re progressive in one way and you’re still making that fing backwards story… What the f are you doing, man?” he said on the WTF podcast.
Audiences and Critics Were Equally Disappointed
Despite Disney’s efforts to update the story for a more progressive audience, the response from both fans and critics was overwhelmingly negative.
The film scored a brutal 1.5 rating on IMDb, making it one of the platform’s worst-rated films ever.
Daily Mail reviewer Brian Viner gave it just two stars, describing it as “a painfully muddle-headed affair” and calling Disney’s attempts to please everyone a spectacular failure.
Looking Ahead With Resilience
For Rachel, the aftermath of Snow White has been deeply humbling, but it also pushed her to prioritize her mental health and learn how to navigate fame in a new way.
Though the movie may not have gone the way she hoped, she’s choosing to move forward with confidence — and that, in itself, is a kind of win.