Lily Allen and Miquita Oliver discussed the fallout over Disney’s live-action Snow White adaptation in the latest episode of their hit podcast, Miss Me?
Star Rachel Zegler, who plays the title character, is currently the subject of what has been dubbed a “smear campaign” that places blame on her for the film’s poor box office performance.
The new Disney film made just $43m (£32m) over its opening weekend with an estimated production cost of $270m.
Allen said she didn’t believe the controversy surrounding Zegler could be blamed for the movie’s struggles so far, suggesting that, if anything, her willingness to stand up for what she believes in is a “central” theme to many of Disney’s own stories.
“Isn’t it usually that the protagonist has some sort of struggle and has to stand up in adversity, so… he can go f*** himself, basically,” the pop singer said, referring to Jonah Platt, the son of the film’s producer Marc Platt and one of Zegler’s most prominent critics.
Oliver also discussed the changes to some of the story, noting that Disney has been doing this with a number of its live-action adaptations and criticising the “really bad” CGI effects.
“It might just be a bit s*** and not Rachel Zegler’s fault,” she suggested.
Much of the controversy surrounding Snow White seems to be directed against Zegler’s off-screen persona, including her comments in 2023 that the remake would be more feminist than the original animated film, released in 1937.
“It’s no longer 1937 - she’s not going to be saved by the prince, and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love,” the actor said in an interview. “She’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be.”
When Zegler’s casting was announced, she was attacked by right-wing voices who opposed the decision to have Snow White portrayed by a person of colour (Zegler is of Colombian descent).
Donald Trump supporters also criticised Zegler for her reaction to the US president’s re-election when she posted on Instagram about the “four years of hatred” he would bring to America. She later apologised for “contributing to negative discourse”.
Further controversy erupted when Zegler first shared the official Snow White trailer on X in August 2023, as she thanked her fans for their support before adding in a follow-up thread post: “And always remember, free Palestine.”
Jonah Platt, the son of Snow White producer Marc Platt, appeared to blame Zegler’s social media posts for hurting the film’s prospects last week in a since-deleted comment.
“You really want to do this? Yeah, my dad, the producer of an enormous piece of Disney IP with hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, had to leave his family to fly across the country to reprimand his 20-year-old employee for dragging her personal politics into the middle of promoting the movie for which she signed a multi-million dollar contract to get paid and do publicity for,” he wrote.
“This is called adult responsibility and accountability. And her actions clearly hurt the film’s box office. Free speech does not mean you’re allowed to say whatever you want in your private employment without repercussions.
“Tens of thousands of people worked on that film and she hijacked the conversation for her own immature desires at the risk of all the colleagues and crew and blue collar workers who depend on that movie to be successful. Narcissism is not something to be coddled or encouraged.”
Neither Marc nor Jonah Platt responded to The Independent’s requests for comment.
Allen, who questioned just how many fans were actually interested in a Snow White remake, also criticised Disney for pouring “millions and millions of dollars into something that no one gave a f*** about it, don’t blame it on a 20-year-old girl for expressing her view that many people share.”
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