The controversial lead of Disney’s “woke” Snow White, Rachel Zegler, made headlines again after she was seemingly hit with another criticism by one of her former co-stars on West Side Story.
Ariana DeBose took to Instagram to share a quote by Jonah Platt, the son of Snow White’s producer, who recently blamed Zegler for the movie’s flop.
Ariana DeBose posted a quote about “narcissism” that seemed to shade Rachel Zegler in a since-deleted post
On Tuesday, April 1, DeBose shared a since-deleted post on Instagram that seemed to shade Zegler. The post read the quote, “Narcissism is not something to be coddled or encouraged,” on a colorful rose background set to Beyonce’s song Cozy, in which the Grammy Award-winner sings about surviving after taking a “dagger” in the back.
The Oscar-winning actress also had the comments on her post turned off, which prevented her over 700,000 followers from reacting to the possible drama.
Eagle-eyed fans quickly noticed that the quote DeBose used in her post was part of a statement from Snow White producer Marc Platt’s son, Jonah Platt, who recently slammed Zegler over her alleged contributions to the movie’s weak performance at the box office, calling her “narcissistic.”
DeBose and Zegler were rumored to have had a falling out after their 2021 movie, West Side Story
DeBose and Zegler were rumored to have had a falling out by the end of Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story campaign during awards season.
Although whether there was actual drama between them has not been confirmed, Zegler raised eyebrows after not publicly congratulating DeBose on her Best Supporting Actress win at the 2022 Oscars.
The actresses had their fair share of drama after the 2022 Academy Awards
Zegler was also invited to the ceremony at the last minute, which increased the tension between the two. DeBose, without naming names, likely referred to Zegler in response to a question from Andy Cohen on his YouTube show Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, where he asked about the worst celebrity tantrum she had witnessed.
The two actresses also unfollowed one another on Instagram after the Academy Awards ceremony.
DeBose explained that she didn’t know the origin of the quote and that it wasn’t criticizing Zegler
As fishy as it might seem, DeBose quickly followed up her since-deleted viral post with a story, explaining that she didn’t know the source of the quote and she wasn’t criticizing her former co-star Rachel Zegler.
The actress wrote, “I post quotes all the time and thought this one was meaningful. Will fully cop to the fact I did not do any research on where this quote came from, nor did I know of the connection until it was pointed out to me.”
Saying she has no intention of joining a news cycle, she added, “This is not the first time I’ve posted about dealing with narcissism, and it probably won’t be the last, but next time I’ll be sure to clarify its origins first.”
The controversial quote was part of Disney producer Marc Platt’s son Jonah Platt’s furious comment
According to The New York Times report, Disney producer Marc Platt flew to New York to talk to Zegler, 23, to remind her how much was at stake with the movie and her career before asking her to “post heedfully” after she shared political tweets and posts on social media upon the movie trailer’s release.
After confirming his father’s New York trip on Variety, the producer’s son, Jonah Platt, responded to a user on social media, expressing his frustration.
“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 got paid and do publicity for,” Platt wrote in the since-deleted comment, according to Variety.
Calling Zegler narcissistic, Platt said the actress’s actions “clearly hurt the film’s box office”
Saying that it was called adult responsibility and accountability, Platt said Zegler’s actions “clearly hurt the film’s box office.”
Platt continued, “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,” he added.
The Snow White actress has been at the center of controversy over the low-performing movie
Ever since its announcement, the live-action Disney movie and its titular lead, Zegler, have been plagued with controversy. The movie’s script, casting choices, and use of CGI dwarfs were highly criticized by fans and fellow stars—such as Peter Dinklage—in the industry.
Zegler’s political remarks and comments on the original Snow White also landed a critical blow to the movie’s performance.
The $270 million film, which hit theaters on March 21, is set to become a box office flop after it garnered just $42.2 million domestically during its opening weekend. According to Deadline, Disney will likely suffer a loss of $115 million from the film.
Online users rushed to the comments to react to Ariana DeBose’s alleged shade at Rachel Zegler
