Work on the live-action Snow White remake is underway, and some photos from the production have caused some drama online. The images, published by The Daily Mail last week, indicated that the roles of the seven dwarves will all, except for one, be played by average-sized people.
This ignited criticism over the movie’s casting and revived questioning about Rachel Zegler portraying the traditionally fair-skinned Snow White character. In particular, Ben Shapiro took exception to Zegler’s casting, saying in part, “[The word ‘white’] is literally in her name. That’s why she has her name. So I guess just to like, screw with people, they’re casting… Rachel Zegler’s a very talented person. It’s weird casting, you might say.”
Now, Halle Bailey, who herself faced some criticism when she was cast as Ariel in the remake of The Little Mermaid, showed support for Zegler.
Sharing some childhood photo of herself wearing various princess outfits, Zegler tweeted on July 15, “extremely appreciative of the love i feel from those defending me online, but please don’t tag me in the nonsensical discourse about my casting. i really, truly do not want to see it. so i leave you w these photos! i hope every child knows they can be a princess no matter what.”
Bailey quote-tweeted the post and added, “we love you so much [heart emoji] truly the perfect princess.” Zegler responded, “my sweetest girl [heart emoji] i love you always.”
we love you so much ❤️truly the perfect princess https://t.co/B5Pb9l7sXX
— Halle (@HalleBailey) July 15, 2023
my sweetest girl ❤️ i love you always
— rachel zegler (she/her/hers) (@rachelzegler) July 15, 2023