Rachel Zegler, Gal Gadot Attend Snow White Premiere Amid Controversy

Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot supported their live-action Snow White film at its scaled-back Hollywood premiere despite the controversies surrounding it.

Zegler, 23, and Gadot, 39, both made appearances at the Saturday, March 15, premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles and jointly posed for photos with members of the film’s creative team including Marc Platt, Marc Webb, Jared LeBoff, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.

Gadot, for her part, stunned in a black, lace Chloé gown, while Zegler opted for a blush-colored strapless Dior frock. Zegler, who brings the Disney princess to life on the big screen, even took sartorial inspiration from the animated character’s classic pink dress.

Earlier this week, Variety reported that the Hollywood premiere for the Disney film would move forward without media outlets present. Instead, coverage would be limited to photographers and a house crew at the event, which included a pre-party and screening.

The news followed a string of controversies involving the film — which will be released in theaters on Friday, March 21 — and its leading ladies, Zegler and Gadot, who portray Snow White and the Evil Queen, respectively.

For years, Zegler has been at the center of repeated backlash concerning the movie, beginning when some fans questioned her June 2021 casting as Snow White since she is Latina. She later drew criticism for calling the 1937 animated Disney film “dated” in a September 2022 interview with Variety since she believed the prince “literally stalks Snow White.”

Zegler continued, “She’s not going to be saved by the prince. She’s not going to be dreaming about true love. She’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be.”

Among the movie’s other controversies, Peter Dinklage weighed in on the seemingly negative stereotypes of little people portrayed in the live-action film.

“Literally no offense to anything, but I was sort of taken aback,” Dinklage, 55, said on the “WTF With Marc Maron” podcast in January 2022. “They were very proud to cast a Latino actress as Snow White, but you’re still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there.”

After Dinklage’s criticism, Disney reconsidered the movie’s depiction of the characters, telling Good Morning America in a statement, “To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community.”

Despite the numerous controversies, Zegler attributed the attention surrounding the remake to fans’ love for the original.

“I interpret people’s sentiments toward this film as passion,” she said in the March issue of Vogue Mexico. “What an honor to be a part of something that people feel so passionately about. We’re not always going to agree with everyone who surrounds us and all we can do is our best.”