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Snow White has been one of Disney’s most popular movies since it came out in 1937. But the live-action adaptation, starring Rachel Zegler in the titular role and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, has been surrounded by controversy ahead of its theatrical release at the end of March.
The Snow White remake has drawn so much scrutiny, Disney will permit only photographers and house crew at the film’s March 15 premiere, reducing the number of journalists in attendance who could potentially questions. The production has faced multiple issues, from criticisms over statements made by the movie’s stars to debates over how the film portrays dwarfs.
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Here’s a look at controversies facing Snow White in the walk-up to its release.
The casting of Snow White
The idea of Zegler, an actor of Colombian descent, playing the Disney princess prompted racist backlash. “The name of the movie is Snow White, okay?!” conservative pundit Ben Shapiro said in a YouTube video published six months ago that boasts about 700,000 views.
Backlash against Zegler intensified after some fans questioned her appreciation for the role when she called out some of the more sexist elements of the original Snow White story.
In 2022, Zegler told Extra TV that the original Snow White has “a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird! WEIRD!” In other interviews, she’s talked about how the film is “dated” in terms of its representation of women in power, saying she approached playing Snow White as someone who would “be dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be” rather than as a character who is solely looking for her Happily Ever After.
The take went viral on TikTok where, as NBC News reported, users argued that not all female characters have to be “girl bosses.”
Zegler has stood by her comments. “What an honor to be part of something that people feel so passionate about,” Zegler told Vogue Mexico for a 2025 feature. “We’re not always going to have the same feelings as everyone around us, and all we can do is give the best of ourselves.”
Making a Snow White movie to begin with
It’s not just the casting that’s been criticized, but also the whole idea of doing a Snow White movie in 2025. Some think a fairy tale that features seven dwarfs is politically incorrect, like Games of Thrones star Peter Dinklage.
“I was a little taken aback,” Dinklage said on Marc Maron’s “WTF” podcast in 2022. He described the Snow White fairytale as a “f—ing backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together,” arguing, “Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough.”
After Dinklage’s comments, Disney told the Hollywood Reporter that it was taking a “different approach” with the seven dwarfs characters and consulted with members of the dwarfism community during the making of the film.
In the film, Snow White is flanked by seven computer-generated little people, a blow to little people who have aspired to the roles, according to Dylan Postl, an actor who is a little person. As he told the broadcaster Piers Morgan in 2023, “I can’t go for the Harrison Ford or George Clooney roles because that’s not for me. These dwarf roles are for people of my stature…now think about the additional stunt actors or body doubles, now you’re talking about multiple actors of my stature that don’t get these major roles.”
The Israel-Hamas war
Snow White and the Evil Queen are not only at odds in the movie, but also in real life—at least in terms of political opinion.
The movie got caught in the crosshairs of the culture wars just as the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7, 2023.
Gadot, who used to serve in the Israel Defense Forces, has been unabashedly pro-Israel, urging world leaders to do more to free the hostages taken by Hamas. More than a year into the war, in a March 4, 2025, keynote speech at an Anti-Defamation League summit, Gadot denounced those who are not “condemning Hamas, but celebrating, justifying and cheering on a massacre of Jews.”
Zegler, who describes herself as “pro-Palestine,” has been outspoken about her views. After a Snow White trailer came out in Aug. 2024, Zegler thanked her followers in a post on X, and added: “always remember, free palestine.”
The two stars did appear at the Academy Awards onstage together on Mar. 2, 2025, where they presented the Oscar for best visual effects. Both are expected to attend Disney’s premiere of the film on Friday, where all eyes will likely be following any interactions they have.
Snow White releases in theaters on March 21.
