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She bit the apple.
Rachel Zegler, 23, is speaking out about her “Snow White” controversy.
“I interpret people’s feelings about this film as passion for it, and what an honor to be able to be a part of something that people are so passionate about,” she told Vogue Mexico in a profile published Monday.
“We’re not always going to have the same feelings as everyone around us and all we can do is give our best.”
The “West Side Story” star plays the titular role of Snow White in the upcoming live-action film.
More recently, Zegler sparked controversy after the “West Side Story” star spoke out against those who voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 election. Following her comments, some Trump supporters said they would boycott the project.
“I hope you get no peace when this film BOMBS at the box office and streaming,” one wrote on social media.
After Trump’s win, Zegler shared a series of messages with her 2.3 million Instagram followers.
“I find myself speechless in the midst of this. another four years of hatred, leaning us towards a world i do not want to live in,” she wrote in a now-deleted Instagram Story.
“I shouldn’t be this shocked. but i am. i am heartbroken for my friends who awoke [in] fear this morning. and i am here with you. to cry, to yell, to hug. to wax poetic on how the left continues to fail us in forging a new path forward. this loss should not have been. and it certainly should not have been by so many votes.”
In a follow-up post, she added there is a “deep, deep sickness” in the United States due to how many people voted for a “man who threatens our democracy.”
The “Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” star also faced backlash for comments she made about the 1937 original animated “Snow White,” calling David Hand’s work “extremely dated.”
In the 2022 clip from the Disney D23 Expo that year, Zegler also made headlines when she made comments about how her rendition of the fairy tale would be more modern than the original film.
“She’s not going to be saved by the prince and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love. She’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be and the leader that her late father told her that she could be if she was fearless, fair, brave and true,” she said.
In a interview with Variety in Oct. 2024, Zegler said, “In all honesty, it made me sad that [my comments were] taken in such a way, because I believe that women can do anything. But I also believe that they can do everything.”
Zegler later clarified that her comments about the “Snow White” romance were misinterpreted.
“I would never want to box someone in and say, ‘If you want love, then you can’t work.’ Or ‘If you want to work, then you can’t have a family.’ It’s not true,” she said. “It’s never been true. It can be very upsetting when things get taken out of context or jokes don’t land. The love story is very integral. A lot of people wrote that we weren’t doing [that storyline] anymore — we were always doing that; it just wasn’t what we were talking about on that day.”
The live-action film is a musical fantasy with a screenplay co-written by “Barbie’s” Greta Gerwig. “Wonder Woman” star Gal Gadot will co-star as the evil queen.
Disney’s “Snow White” remake hits theaters March 21.
