Rachel Zegler Opens Up on Her Reaction to Snow White’s Commercial Failure

Rachel Zegler has revealed details about how she ‘wasn’t functioning’ after the live action remake of Snow White bombed at the box office.

The actress, 24, addressed the backlash that she received and admitted that the conversation around the film made her extremely anxious.

The $270million remake of the 1937 classic was beset by multiple controversies including dumping the traditional ‘sexist’ romance plot to reimagining the Seven Dwarfs as a diverse group of ‘magical creatures’ of all heights, gender and race.

The 2025 adaptation was a box office disappointment, with worldwide gross falling short of expectations and estimated losses reaching into the hundreds of millions.

Rachel took the brunt of the blame for the film underperforming its massive budget – grossing just $69million domestically – and becoming slated on film review sites.

Speaking about the effect the film’s shortcomings had on her, Rachel told i-D magazine: ‘My f***ing psychiatrist has seen me through all of it,’ she says.

Rachel Zegler has revealed details about how she ‘wasn’t functioning’ after the live action remake of Snow White bombed at the box office

The actress, 24, addressed the backlash that she received and admitted that the conversation around the film made her extremely anxious

The $270million remake of the 1937 classic was beset by multiple controversies including dumping the traditional ‘sexist’ romance plot to reimagining the Seven Dwarfs as a diverse group of ‘magical creatures’ of all heights, gender and race

She said she needed someone to remind her that, “What you’re going through isn’t normal”, that sentence did such wonders for me in multiple situations in my life.’

Rachel also told how she got medicated for her anxiety too, ‘which was truly a game changer, because I just wasn’t functioning. 

‘And I wanted to function in a way that made me feel confident in the way I was moving through the world.’

Rachel also spoke about those with a ‘victim mindset’ and her experiences with perceived negativity, saying:’I think a victim mindset is a choice, and I don’t choose it.

‘I also don’t choose nastiness in the face of it. I don’t choose negativity in the face of it. I choose positivity and light and happiness.  

‘And I do believe at times, happiness is absolutely a choice, and every day I wake up and I think I’m very lucky to live the life I live.’

The lead actress came under fire almost immediately after her casting due to her Colombian and Polish mixed heritage.

Many fans were upset since the original Brothers Grimm fairy tale describes the character as having, ‘skin as white as snow.’

Rachel took the brunt of the blame for the film underperforming its massive budget – grossing just $69million domestically – and becoming slated on film review sites

Speaking about the effect the film’s shortcomings had on her, Rachel told i-D magazine : ‘My f***ing psychiatrist has seen me through all of it,’ she says

Rachel previously said that the origin story has changed, and in Disney’s new version the princess earns the name due to a snowstorm she survived as a child.

The lead then came under fire for criticising the 1937 animation, calling it ‘dated’ during a red carpet interview with Extra TV in 2022.

‘There’s a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird. So we didn’t do that this time,’ she said.

‘We have a different approach to what I’m sure a lot of people will assume is a love story just because we cast a guy in the movie.’

Rachel eventually walked back her comments and assured fans that the love story would be ‘integral’ to the remake’s plot.

Disney fans then expressed discontent at Rachel when she said she was ‘scared’ of the original version as a child and only watched it one time.

Rachel wasn’t the only point of criticism during the making of the film, as the remake’s Evil Queen Gal Gadot became a subject of backlash for her stance on the Gaza war.

Alongside the interview, Rachel posed for a fun photoshoot to accompany it

She was sporting a cropped blue top with a plaid mini skirt

In another look, Rachel wore a simple white vest top with black tracksuit bottoms

Full interview and digital cover available at i-D.co/RachelZegler

Gal, an Israeli native who also served in the Israel Defense Force, has been vocal about her support for the country.

Meanwhile, Rachel on the other hand, expressed her support for freeing Palestine from Israel’s occupation.

Disney’s attempts to make the remake friendlier to ‘woke’ audiences have fallen flat at times, with actor Peter Dinklage calling out the company’s hypocrisy in 2022.

‘It makes no sense to me,’ he told Mark Maron on the WTF podcast.

‘You’re progressive in one way and you’re still making that f***ing backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together, what the f*** are you doing, man? Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough.’

The film also suffered yet another rather humiliating blow, with its dreadful 1.5 rating on IMDB currently one of the worst of all time.

A review by Daily Mail’s Brian Viner gave the film a pitiful two stars, calling it ‘a painfully muddle-headed affair.’

‘Disney’s contorted attempts not to offend anyone have somehow managed to offend everyone,’ Viner wrote.

Full interview and digital cover available at i-D.co/RachelZegler.