Movies

Rachel Zegler And Gal Gadot Pose Amid Snow White Controversies

BBG News

Disney’s controversial new take on Snow White made its debut in the United States over the weekend, but it lacked the grandeur and large crowds typically associated with Disney premieres.

The movie has been embroiled in a series of controversies, such as disputes between its stars Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, prompting the producers to hold a low-key matinee screening with children as the special guests instead of a grand premier event.

Earlier in the week, Gal had missed the private screening of the movie in Spain. However, at this event, they both showed up, and Gal and the leading actress, Rachel, struck some stiff photos together.

Shining a light on bosses’ attempts to limit the difficult questions Rachel could face about the film, a select number of photographers, far smaller than the number expected for a Disney premiere, were invited.

To cope with a string of scandals and public relations disasters surrounding their Snow White remake, Disney has decided to downsize their extravagant premiere events to just a few select, closely managed press gatherings instead.

Noting the number of children that made up the guest list, the screening, held at LA’s El Capitan Theatre, took place at 3:30pm after a pre-party celebration that lasted just 90 minutes, according to Variety.

Instead of a vast array of press, which would be expected for a big-budget Disney film, the only interviewers the cast faced were employed by Disney, such as Jodi Benson, who voiced Ariel in the studio’s 1989 animation The Little Mermaid.

Cast members Martin Klebba, Jason Kravits, George Salazar, Andy Grotelueschen, Emilia Faucher, Lorena Andrea, Dujonna Gift, and Idris Kargbo, as well as director Marc Webb, screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson, producers Marc Platt and Jared LeBoff, songwriters Justin Paul and Benj Pasek, composer Jeff Morrow and cinematographer Mandy Walker also walked the red carpet. 

Putting the focus on local children who were invited to the event, the pre-party celebration featured an array of sponsored activities to entertain the young guests while they waited.

A large number of kids who went to the first showing belonged to the Boys & Girls Club branches located in San Fernando and Malibu.

The event included an interactive Essie nail polish installation, serving ‘Just One Bite’ coffee and tea from Joffrey’s, and a Miracle-Gro booth where guests could make their own flower bouquet to take home after the movie screening.

Allegra was involved in a joint marketing campaign, where Sneezy and Sleepy, two dwarves, were given significant attention.

Guests sipped on apple-infused drinks – appletinis, sparkling cider and Shirley Temples, which was an ode to the iconic child star who famously presented Walt Disney with an honorary Oscar for the original Snow White in 1938. 

During the screening, Rachel did briefly address the backlash that has surrounded the film, which has been branded woke over fears it has prioritised its messaging over authentic storytelling.

As the young lead in the movie, I see the responses I get from people as their deep-seated enthusiasm towards my character. It’s heartening to know that they care so deeply about the role I play.

She mentioned: ‘It’s truly a privilege to be involved in something that stirs such intense emotions in others. Naturally, we won’t always share the same feelings with those around us, but what we can do is offer our very best.’

In the photograph, the actress donned a delicate pink ballgown and posed while a train of satin flowed behind her. During this time, she interacted with some children dressed as the renowned princess, who had come to witness the event.

And while she and Gal, who stars as the Evil Queen, painted on smiles to pose for snaps together, fans were quick to spot the tension between them, amid claims of a feud behind the scenes.

One observer on X noted, ‘The smiles don’t seem genuine; they appear to be insincere and contrived.’

Another agreed, adding, ‘Guarantee the smiles dropped as soon as they were done with the picture.’

Referencing a picture with producer Marc E. Platt sandwiched between two actresses, someone posted, ‘It seems like he’s keeping them in check, as if they were two fierce animals ready to fight one another.’

A different individual posted a picture showing supposed allies hiding weapons as they pretended to be friendly, likening this scene to Rachel and Gal.

It has been widely speculated that there is a behind-the-scenes clash between the live action film’s two leading stars.

It is widely thought that Gadot’s stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, given her being Israeli by nationality, might be influencing her views.

The first public showing of the movie is the most recent scaled-down promotion event arranged by Disney executives. This comes just days after they caused a stir by hosting a ‘secret’ screening in Spain, which excluded global media outlets.

It wasn’t even described as a premiere, but was carefully referred to as an ‘European event’ after its glitzy global premieres were ditched in favor of ‘tightly controlled’ press events.

Instead of the commonly seen news media gathering at the location, Spanish influencers and residents from the tiny city of Segovia (population 51,000) were some of the notable figures invited to the event.

The event – which took place thousands of miles away from the gaze of global press – featured a performance from Zegler of Waiting upon a Wish, with ‘VIPs’ standing in a crowd to watch, as well as a lavish meal with guests.

A select group of people were invited to watch an exclusive preview of the movie, while influencers shared sneak peeks from inside the cinema on social media. However, these guests have been asked not to disclose their opinions about the movie’s release until later.

According to Disney, unnamed ‘press’, ‘content creators’ and families involved with local Spanish charities were among those who gathered outside the medieval castle.

However, there didn’t appear to be many big names from influencer circles in attendance as the Spanish content creators in the crowds boasted mere thousands of followers, rather than millions.

When TMZ asked her recently how it felt as Snow White was finally set to premiere in cinemas, she replied, “It’s absolutely delightful, I appreciate your question.

This week, it emerged that Disney decided to reduce the scale of the movie’s red carpet event in Los Angeles. They will only allow photographers and a small crew to attend.

Martin Klebba, who voiced the character of Grumpy, slammed Disney for choosing to scale back on the Hollywood premiere. 

TMZ reported that the actor – who is also known for appearing in the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise – is ‘seriously bummed and a bit p****d.’ 

He briefly commented on the controversies surrounding the movie, as well as the political opinions of the leading stars but said it ‘shouldn’t have overshadowed everyone else’s hard work.’ 

And while talking to The Hollywood Reporter, he further commented on the screening which will take place on Saturday and expressed, ‘It really isn’t going to be a red carpet.

We’ll be gathering at the El Capitan Theatre, an awesome spot. However, it’s essentially just a pre-event, where we’ll be watching the movie, and that will be all.

Martin stated, ‘There won’t be a grand fanfare like, “‘Disney’s first film ever created.'” Due to the ongoing controversy, they are cautious about potential backlash from various segments of society.’

Peter Dinklage previously hit back at Disney for remaking Snow White which he labeled as a ‘f***ing backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together.’ 

Klebba typically avoids discussing politics, yet he expressed, “Dwarves won’t disappear simply because one can’t conceive of their existence.

‘We’re still going to be walking around. So I didn’t get the whole stuff about not doing the dwarfs. The story’s been around forever, and it’s a classic.’

It’s been whispered that there might be some tension backstage between Rachel and Gal, due to their differing opinions about the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

A source recently told People that the two stars ‘have nothing in common’ and added, ‘On top of that, their political views differ, adding to the tension.’ 

A large scale premiere would have also taken place at Leicester Square in London, but an insider informed DailyMail.com earlier this month that a decision was made to not hold one for the upcoming movie.

Disney is expecting a potential backlash from those who are critical of “wokeness” regarding their new version of Snow White, so they have limited the media coverage to only a few carefully managed press events.

‘That is why they have taken the highly unusual step not to host a London premiere for the film and are minimizing the amount of press questions that Rachel Zegler gets.’

Last week, Zegler represented the film at an event in Tokyo, serving as the main press contact. However, Gadot and the rest of the cast were not present at this gathering.

Disney’s decision was made in response to backlash and concerns that their remake placed too much emphasis on ‘progressive’ themes at the expense of a genuine narrative.

Notably, the remake has dumped the traditional romance plot because of ‘sexism’ and reimagined the Seven Dwarfs as a diverse group of ‘magical creatures’.

Zegler herself has also criticized David Hand’s 1937 original animated film as ‘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,’ she told Extra TV in 2022. 

‘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 might take an unusual route, contrary to what many may initially think based on the male lead in our film, as it’s not necessarily a traditional romance.

‘All of Andrew’s scenes could get cut, who knows? It’s Hollywood, baby!’ she joked.

Regarding the 1937 film, she commented: “The initial release gave me quite a scare. I recall watching it only once, and since then, I haven’t felt inclined to revisit it.” She was being sincere about this.

Zegler also told Variety that her version of Snow White would be dreaming about becoming a ‘fearless leader’ rather than ‘dreaming about true love’.

Sources previously revealed to DailyMail.com that Zegler’s reputation as a ‘loose cannon’ nearly got her axed from playing Snow White.

Zegler’s strong opinions have prompted some haters to vow to boycott the film.

Reflecting on comments made on social media about her casting as Snow White, Zegler insisted she doesn’t even try to wrap her head why ‘Disney adults’ would have a problem with someone Latina portraying the beloved princess.

Zegler proceeded to reveal that the line describing her character’s ‘skin as white as snow’ will reference ‘another version of Snow White that was told in history,’ in which the character ‘survived a snowstorm that occurred when she was a baby’.

‘The king and queen decided to name her Snow White to remind her of her resilience,’ she noted. ‘One of the core points in our film for any young woman or young person is remembering how strong you actually are.’  

The star also admitted that it was ‘sad’ to see so many people rip her apart for teasing that her version of Snow White would not not be saved by a prince.

Disney also sparked backlash after they announced that ‘magical creatures’ would replace the seven dwarves to ‘avoid reinforcing stereotypes’ after Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage criticized the ‘f****** backwards story’ last year.

I was quite surprised to hear that Disney took great pride in casting a Latina actress as Snow White, but they’re still telling the classic tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, as I discovered during an interview on Mark Maron’s WTF podcast.

‘It makes no sense to me. You’re progressive in one way and you’re still making that f***ing backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together, what the f*** are you doing, man? 

‘Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough.’ 

Dinklage’s concerns were shared by some charities, including the Restricted Growth Association in the UK.

‘I very much stand with Peter Dinklage on the disappointment and irritation towards Disney for the remake of Snow White,’ Rhonda Cutmore, a member of the association, told The Telegraph.

Meanwhile, Dwarfism writer Steph Robson said she hoped film producers make an effort to avoid stereotypes in its retelling of the classic movie.

‘It is my hope that the latest live action remake, and Disney, will, at the very least go some way to redress the decades of the one-dimensional stereotypes that our disability continues to experience, especially within arts and cultural settings,’ she told the outlet.

The story has also been criticized as being ableist for portraying the dwarfs with lesser intelligence and Snow White seeing them as children.

Disney later said it’s ‘taking a different approach’ with Snow White’s seven companions.

In a statement last year, the company said it had been consulting with members of the dwarfism community throughout the early stages of production. 

‘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,’ a spokesperson said.

Excitedly, we can’t wait to give you updates as the movie moves into the production phase following a prolonged development process.

In December last year, sources close to the production said Snow White’s seven ‘dwarfs’ were not going to be fully computer generated, and wouldn’t be dwarfs at all.Instead, she would be befriended by magical, forest-dwelling creatures.

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2025-03-16 12:25

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