Fact Check: Was Rachel Zegler banned by Disney? Alleged rumor debunked

Amidst all the drama with Disney's latest big release Snow White, starring Rachel Zegler in the lead, rumors have been fuelling online that paint a very dark perception of the film. From purists to reactionaries, there have been several rumors online that don't really hold much truth; for example, one of the rumors mentioned a rift between Zegler and Gadot, only to be disproven.

Yesterday, March 25, 2025, Variety published an article about Rachel Zegler and the tensions between her and Disney. The article discussed how Zegler's outspoken politics became an issue for the House of the Mouse. However, following the article's release, many fans ran with another rumor.

This time, the rumor stated that Zegler had been fired by Disney and potentially banned by them as well. However, there is no truth to this statement as the actress completed her contractual duties for Snow White and even did press for the film, making the rumor a mere product of online reactionary fantasies.

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Rachel Zegler has been center of controversy for a while

This isn't the first time Zegler has found herself amid a controversy or rumor. Ever since Snow White went into production, the actress has been receiving criticism online from a certain section of the internet that didn't appreciate her comments. The controversy originally began when Rachel Zegler brought up the "problematic" beats of the original Snow White story in an interview with Extra in December 2022.

She then said that the film would be updated to fit with modern times, which produced quite a strong reaction from fans. Many felt that the actress was disrespecting the original story, leading to a campaign of harassment where Rachel Zegler was constantly bothered by many online, based on her casting in the film.

Things took a further drastic turn when the actress showcased her support for Palestine amid the war in Gaza. This further led to more online scrutiny with even Disney having to jump in to tone down Rachel Zegler's online activism, as per Variety. However, Zegler decided not to comply with Disney and continued to maintain solidarity.

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Not just Rachel Zegler, but Snow White has been constantly embroiled in controversy

However, it's not just Rachel Zegler who has been at the centre of the controversy; the film Snow White has also received its fair share of scrutiny online. Things took a turn when actor Peter Dinklage called out Disney for adapting the "backwards" story of the seven dwarfs from the source material on the WTF Podcast with Marc Maron.

This led to Disney pivoting to making the seven dwarfs in the film CGI, which also further caused online scrutiny as many felt that they took roles away from actors with dwarfism. Actress Gal Gadot's support of Israel also caused many fans to call for a boycott of the film as tensions continued to rise between Palestine and Israel.

This all led to Snow White having a middling opening weekend at the box office, having only taken $87 million on a $270 million budget. The film is currently playing in theatres.

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For further updates, stay tuned.