“I’m sorry, Rachel Zegler,” we all say in unison.
Why are we sorry? Rachel Zegler, a rising, powerhouse actress has been unjustly canceled numerous times for standing up for women’s rights, her fellow actors, and herself.
Rachel Zegler stars in multiple recent films, including “Shazam” and “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” and is set to portray Snow White in Disney’s new adaption, where most of her controversy lies.
Was her infamous “Snow White” interview hateful or problematic? No. May she have come off as an ungrateful diva? Perhaps, but let me remind you of her humble beginnings.
Rachel grew up in New Jersey (as most great people did), in a normal family, with her Colombian mother working in education and her Polish father working in construction.
Until her life changed when she was 17. She was an honors student spending her weekends singing at weddings. While she was still in high school, she was chosen out of 30,000 auditionees to play Maria in Steven Spielberg’s production of “West Side Story”.
I’m not saying that she has earned the right to be rude or entitled. However, she has earned what she has.
She saw her shot, and she took it, sending in an audition tape to a casting call she saw on Twitter, according to DailyMail.com. She didn’t have any major connections to land her breakout role – merely her unfathomable talent and drive.
The following years were undoubtedly tumultuous and painful for Zegler, as she was ridiculed and bullied for her race and progressive values. The media put her under constant scrutiny, as they tend to do with young, talented women.
Let us also not forget that she was thrust into the spotlight at the ripe of age 17. Can we blame her for stumbling along the way?
Zegler called the prince in Snow White a “stalker” in an interview at the D23 Expo and discussed how the film has taken a more modern, progressive approach to Snow White’s characters. I have to admit when I saw the video of Zegler dissing Snow White, I wrote her off as another entitled actress, but her comments were out of context!
Let’s be honest here: Rachel isn’t wrong! The premise of the original animated film is misogynistic and creepy, and although Zegler wasn’t the one to rewrite the Disney classic, she received the brunt of the hate from “anti-woke” media.
I, along with the majority of social media, felt compelled to cancel Zegler over her comments, determining her attitude unfit for a Disney princess. Well, I fear that I was a victim of anti-woke propaganda produced to replace Zegler in the film.
These conservative organizations were up in arms not only because she’s outspoken about her values, but because she’s a Hispanic woman playing a character who has skin that is famously “white as snow.” (You can read between the lines here, right?)
Her other “controversies” were simply blown out of proportion. The majority of them, like her Instagram post about not being invited to the Academy Awards despite “West Side Story” being nominated for multiple awards, boil down to her standing up for herself and others and her lack of standard Hollywood-PR conformity.
Was the way she said everything perfect? No, but her intentions were good. Hollywood and the media are simply unaccustomed to – and unwelcoming of – her strong convictions.
Despite her controversies, Rachel Zegler is set to make her Broadway debut –not counting her absolutely stunning performance of “You Matter to Me” with Ben Platt at the Palace Theater—this fall in “Romeo and Juliet”.
She’s really just a girl whose dream came true. It’s truly heartwarming, especially now that she’s trying to use her newfound platform for good. So, let’s leave Rachel Zegler alone!