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Disney scales back Snow White Hollywood premiere following string of controversies
Live-action remake has been subject to controversy over matters including race, politics and the inclusion of the seven dwarfs
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Disney will reportedly scale back the Hollywood premiere of its forthcoming live-action remake of Snow White after the film has been hit with controversy over its casting of lead actor Rachel Zegler and the inclusion of the seven dwarfs.
According to Variety, the premiere, which would typically include a large-scale red carpet event with multiple media outlets invited to interview the stars, has reportedly been reduced to only photographers and in-house crew. The Independent has contacted Disney for comment.
The filmās star, West Side Story actor Zegler, first sparked controversy among conservative and right-wing critics in 2023 when she suggested the remake would be more feminist than the original film, which was released in 1937.
Zegler said in an interview: āItās no longer 1937 . . . Sheās not going to be saved by the prince, and sheās not going to be dreaming about true love. Sheās dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be.ā
Zegler, who is of Colombian descent, also faced backlash from right-wing voices who were unhappy about the lead fictional character being portrayed by a person of colour.
Further controversy came over Disneyās inclusion of the seven dwarfs in the remake.
Peter Dinklage, the Game of Thrones actor who has dwarfism, said in 2022 that he was surprised Disney was so proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White, while āyouāre still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Take a step back and look at what youāre doing there.ā
He continued: āIt makes no sense to me. Youāre progressive in one way, but then youāre still making that f***ing backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together?ā
Rachel Zegler in āSnow Whiteā ( Disney)Disney responded to Dinklageās comments at the time, saying it was consulting with the dwarfism community to āavoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated filmā.
The actorās politics have also attracted further controversy. Israeli actor Gal Gadot, who plays the evil queen in the new movie, has been an outspoken supporter of Israel during its war in Gaza.
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Try for freeMeanwhile, Donald Trump supporters had criticised Zegler for her reaction to the US presidentās re-election when she posted on Instagram about āfour years of hatredā he would bring about in America. She later apologised for ācontributing to negative discourseā.
Disneyās inclusion of the seven dwarfs in āSnow Whiteā has been subject to backlash ( Disney)The new film, by 500 Days of Summer director Marc Webb, follows Snow White after the wicked queen (Gal Gadot), who is also her mother, orders her murder. Fleeing from the peril, Snow White makes her way into a forest and discovers the seven dwarfs in a cottage.
Speaking in a recent interview with Vogue Mexico, Zegler said that the backlash to the film is due to the āpassionā for the original film.
Rachel Zegler in āSnow Whiteā ( Disney)āI interpret peopleās sentiments towards this film as passion,ā she said. āWhat an honour to be a part of something that people feel so passionately about. Weāre not always going to agree with everyone who surrounds us and all we can do is our best.ā
Publicity plans for the movie have already seen Gadot and Zegler presenting at the Oscars together, while Zegler has made promotional appearances with fans in Tokyo. The pair are expected to visit Spain to promote the movie and will host a screening in New York City.
