Disney's $260 million live-action remake of Snow White is facing escalating backlash following public criticism from the son of a key producer, as online outrage over lead actress Rachel Zegler's social media posts and off-script remarks continues to cast a shadow over the film's performance.
Jonah Platt, 38, the son of producer Marc Platt, lashed out at Zegler in a now-deleted Instagram comment defending his father's decision to confront the 23-year-old actress over political statements made during the film's promotional window. "Yeah, my dad, the producer of the enormous piece of Disney IP with hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, had to leave his family to fly across the country to reprimand his 20-year-old employee for dragging her personal politics into the middle of promoting the movie," Jonah Platt wrote. "Narcissism is not something to be coddled or encouraged."
The remarks referred to reports in Variety that Marc Platt had personally confronted Zegler over a social media post that ended with "and always remember, free Palestine." Other resurfaced posts from the actress included statements such as "F--- Donald Trump" and "May Trump supporters... never know peace."
Critics have accused Zegler of politicizing the promotional campaign, while Disney executives reportedly grew concerned that her activism was endangering the film's broader commercial prospects. The studio allegedly arranged private security for co-star Gal Gadot following death threats blamed on Zegler's pro-Palestinian posts. Gadot, an Israeli actress and veteran of the Israel Defense Forces, plays the Evil Queen in the film.
Zegler also drew controversy by describing Prince Charming as a "stalker" and stating that she refused to sing the original's iconic "Someday My Prince Will Come" because it felt "weird." She told reporters, "I was scared of the original version. I think I watched it once and never picked it up again."
The film, intended as a progressive reimagining of Disney's 1937 classic, has come under fire from multiple angles. Critics decried the decision to replace the original dwarves with CGI characters, and audiences reacted coolly. The movie grossed just $3.5 million in previews and $43 million over its opening weekend-far below expectations and well behind last year's Little Mermaid remake, which opened to $95 million.
By contrast, Disney's 2019 Dumbo remake-considered a disappointment-made $2.6 million in previews and $45 million in its opening weekend, but with a significantly lower budget of $170 million. Despite slightly outperforming Cinderella's $2.3 million in preview earnings, Snow White has not followed the same box office recovery trajectory.
Photos and ticket charts circulating on social media showed nearly empty theaters across the country, fueling jokes about starting a GoFundMe to recoup the film's staggering production costs. The film's tepid box office numbers and internal discord have only intensified scrutiny of Disney's recent creative direction, as the studio faces increasing criticism for its embrace of modern reinterpretations of classic content.
In a twist, Zegler will soon appear on the BBC's CBeebies Bedtime Stories series. "We can all be powerful princesses," Zegler says in the episode set to air March 28. "To be a powerful princess you just need to be wonderful, brilliant you!"
