Disney’s scandal-hit live action remake of Snow White has been dealt another blow with stars Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot said to be locked in a feud.
Snow White holds an important place in Disney history with it being the very first animated film that the studio put out back in 1937.
Based on a German fairytale released by The Brothers Grimm in 1812, the original story of Snow White follows a young princess who is forced to go into hiding from her jealous stepmother, the Evil Queen.
The Evil Queen tricks Snow White into taking a bite from a poisionous apple which causes her to fall into a death-like slumber from which she can only be awoken by love’s first kiss.
Disney’s Marc Webb-directed live action remake, which is released in cinemas nationwide on March 21, stars American actress Zegler, 23, as the titular character while Israeli-born Gadot, 39, plays the Evil Queen.
Unfortunately, Zeglar and Gadot’s on-screen tensions have reportedly spilled out into real life, causing a nightmare for the House of Mouse.
According to multiple sources who spoke with People, the actresses have “nothing in common” due to their “huge age gap” and “very different political views” on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.
Both have been vocal in their support for opposite sides, with branding experts warning that such behaviour could trigger a boycott.
“Gal is annoyed by the movie drama,” an insider told People. “She enjoyed filming. She was fine with Rachel, but they are not friends. … They did a job together and that’s it.
Snow White’s trouble extends far beyond political reasons however.
Latina actress Zegler faced a backlash when she was first cast as Snow White.
Addressing the negative reception, she wrote in a since-deleted social media post: “Yes I am Snow White no I am not bleaching my skin for the role (sic).”
She sparked further outrage when she called the storyline of the film “weird” and also labeled the prince as a “stalker”.
There were then cries that Snow White had gone “woke” when Zegler revealed in an interview that the new film would be going in a different direction and said of the character of Snow White: “She's not going to be saved by the prince and she's not going to be dreaming about true love.”
This seemed to be further afirmed when Disney announced it would be scrapping the characters of the seven Dwarves. The studio said it had consulted members of the dwarfism community “to avoid reinforcing stereotypes” and, later, that it would replace the characters with “magical creatures”.
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They went back to the drawing board however after an image showing their vision was slated by fans.
Despite reportedly splashing out £155m to make Snow White, last week Disney chose to “scale back” the movie's premiere in Los Angeles, per Variety, and scrapped a London premiere altogether.
Talk of a fallout between the leading ladies reached fever pitch when Zegler appeared solo at a private premiere event in Spain, while Gadot promoted the flick by herself at Disneyland in Anaheim, California.
They looked awkward in pictures taken at a screening in Los Angeles, only posing together in group shots.
Despite all of the off-screen drama, early reviews by critics have been largely positive with many hailing Zegler’s performance.
The Standard has contacted a representative for Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot.
