Halle Bailey Supports Rachel Zegler Through Backlash to “Snow White” Casting

When Rachel Zegler was initially cast in the title role of Disney’s live-action remake of Snow White, online trolls went on the attack. At the time, fellow Disney Princess Halle Bailey backed her up, and Bailey has come to support her friend again.

This week, after the Daily Mail shared photos taken on set in Bedfordshire, England, people are once again harassing Zegler and anyone else associated with Snow White. The photos show that the story’s seven dwarves are now a crew of characters who are quite diverse in height, age, race, and gender. The cast has changed considerably, especially since Greta Gerwig cowrote the movie and excised the Prince Charming from the script. It’s different from both Disney’s original and from the fairy tale first collected by the Brothers Grimm. Zegler has talked about how the story needed “refreshing.”

“Never in a million years did I imagine that this would be a possibility for me,” she said. “You don’t normally see Snow Whites of Latin descent, even though Snow White is a big deal in Spanish-speaking countries. People are making these jokes about ours being the PC Snow White … yeah, it is—because it needed that.”

She added, “It's an 85-year-old cartoon, and our version is a refreshing story about a young woman who has a function beyond ‘Someday My Prince Will Come.’”

In a now-deleted tweet, Zegler also wrote, “Yes I am Snow White; no, I am not bleaching my skin for the role.”

With release of the new photos, trolls are bothering Zegler again. On Saturday, July 15, she asked to be left out of it.

“extremely appreciative of the love i feel from those defending me online, but please don’t tag me in the nonsensical discourse about my casting,” she wrote on Twitter. “i really, truly do not want to see it.so i leave you w these photos! i hope every child knows they can be a princess no matter what.”

Little Mermaid actor Bailey quote-tweeted Zegler, writing, “we love you so much truly the perfect princess.”

Bailey has faced a lot of racism and hostility online since she was cast as the live-action Ariel for Disney’s recent wildly successful live-action remake, and is probably one of the few people who really understand what Zegler is experiencing right now.

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