The Rise And Rapid Fall Of Rachel Zegler

It is impossible to be a woman in Hollywood. 

There are binding invisible agreements that famous females ‘sign up for’ when the spotlight is on them. They are open to brutal scrutiny, are expected to both uphold and challenge beauty standards and live in constant fear of tripping up in any interviews – terrified of the sweeping cancellation that inevitably follows. 

This is why so many women rise up the ranks to become Hollywood’s sweethearts before being swiftly dragged down and labelled as ‘try hards’ or women that give us the collective ick. 

It’s happened to Jennifer Lawrence, Anne Hathaway and now it’s happening to Rachel Zegler.

She quietly chipped away at her stage career before auditioning for West Side Story – a massive musical-to-movie adaptation where she was cast as the lead, Maria. She was acting against her Tony, played by Ansel Elgort, who was undoubtedly the ‘big name’ on the movie billing. However, things took a turn when just before the press tour for West Side Story began, Ansel was accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old. He denied the allegation on social media and instead described their relationship as “entirely consensual”, but the production company made the decision to remove Ansel from the promotional trail. 

Rachel, who was on her first press tour, was forced to handle media interviews and red carpets alone. A particularly tricky one to navigate when precisely every reporter on planet Earth just wanted to ask her what she really thought of her costar. 

Rachel Zegler on the BAFTAs red carpet. Image credit: Instagram/@rachelzegler

The ramifications of Ansel’s allegations were shouldered by Rachel in a big way, and that was certainly proven by what went down at the Oscars. West Side Story was nominated for seven awards (more than any other movie that year), but Rachel wasn’t invited to attend.

A fan commented on one of her Instagram posts at the time to ask what she was planning on wearing on the red carpet, and she replied with: “I’m not invited, so sweatpants and my boyfriend’s flannel.” She would later say on social media that she hoped some “last-minute miracle” occurred so she could celebrate the movie in person.

Despite this hiccup, Rachel was still very much on the trajectory of becoming a new starlet.

She was gracing magazine covers, attending A-lister events and booking big blockbuster movies like Shazam, the Hunger Games prequel and, most famously, the live-action remake of Snow White.

Snow White has wrapped filming now and is firmly in post-production, with the movie set to hit cinemas in 2024. But in this down period for the actors, Rachel has been questioned about the movie at events and premieres and her answers have not gone down too well.

You see, Rachel has openly criticised the original movie, released in 1937, claiming the Prince’s ‘stalker’ plotline was a massive red flag and she was grateful none of that storyline would be making it into the remake she’s leading.

Speaking at the D23 Expo, she told ExtraTV: “The original cartoon came out in 1937, and very evidently so. There’s a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird! Weird! So, we didn’t do that this time.”

Rachel Zegler admitting she didn’t like Snow White growing up, saying she had only watched it ONCE before getting the role is so sad to me. Out of MILLIONS of women who loved the character, care about the story and yet this is who we get. 🤡🤢 pic.twitter.com/IVKQN4FIHc

— Vara Dark (@Vara_Dark) August 10, 2023

Rachel added to Variety: “We absolutely wrote a Snow White that… she’s not going to be saved by the prince, and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love. She’s going to be dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be, and that her late father told her that she could be if she was fearless, fair, brave, and true.”

While none of this is particularly inflammatory, it’s really pissed off people who were pumped about the live-action movie. Especially those who had an overtly racist reaction to Rachel being cast as the lead in the first place. Some were questioning why a Latinx person would be playing Snow White – a character they believed should be Caucasian. 

In a now-deleted tweet, Rachel posted in response to the criticism: “Yes I am Snow White. No, I am not bleaching my skin for the role.”

The film’s director came to her defence, saying Rachel is “perfect” for the role and praising her for “her strength, intelligence and optimism [which] will become an integral part of rediscovering the joy in this classic Disney fairytale”.

But back to the backlash about what Rachel said on the red carpet, and why so many people are up in arms about it. 

It seems the bulk of the criticism is due to the ‘spoilers’ that Rachel has shared by admitting the love story isn’t central to the Snow White remake – with the actor hinting that the scenes of her ‘love interest’ may be cut because “that’s Hollywood, baby”.

It just gets worse and worse….

The new Snow White says that the Prince was a creepy stalker and suggests that all scenes of the Prince could be cut

She’s a walking PR disaster for Disney pic.twitter.com/7QJGDIx5er

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) August 13, 2023

Fans are furious, saying she’s the worst advertisement for the movie for leaking plots and dragging the concept of the original film. Her Instagram posts – even the ones that have nothing to do with Snow White – are now peppered with nasty comments like these. And trust me when I say these are certainly not the worst of them:

Comments on Rachel Zegler’s Instagram. Image credit: Instagram/@rachelzegler + Punkee

Another cohort that is disappointed in Rachel is those that believe there’s nothing unfeminist about aspiring to fall in love, get married or start a family. 

Rachel has shared her stance on the traditional love story in Snow White, making it clear that craving a Prince – particularly one that comes off a little ‘stalkerish’ – doesn’t do it for her. While I’m sure the writers, producers and directors have had more of a say in the storyline of the film, from the red carpet appearances it does appear as if Rachel almost wouldn’t have agreed to do the movie if the classic plot was in place. 

And that’s why people are raging – because they don’t want someone in the role that doesn’t care for the original story and because they don’t want their aspirations labelled as old-fashioned, unfeminist or unworthy of a big-screen depiction. 

It seems like an immensely harsh criticism to be levelled at an actor who is simply sharing her opinion of a production she’s lived and breathed for the past year. To actively troll someone for this, seemingly to sour their career, feels like a very extreme reaction.

But it’s not the first time this has happened in Hollywood, and I’m concerned it’s far from being the last. 

–
Image credits: Instagram/@rachelzegler, Punkee