Lots of people enjoy a celebrity spat, and social media users have been trying to pit Snow White co-stars Rachel Zegler, who plays the title role and has posted support for a Gaza ceasefire, and Israeli Gal Gadot, who portrays the Evil Queen, against each other since the release of the trailer for the Disney live-action remake of the classic cartoon on Saturday.
Zegler posted the trailer on her X account, noting the film would be released in 2025 and thanking viewers for their support, then added in a comment, “and always remember, free Palestine.”
i love you all so much! thank you for the love and for 120m views on our trailer in just 24 hours! what a whirlwind. i am in the thick of rehearsals for romeo + juliet so i’m gonna get outta here. bye for now. ❤️️
— rachel zegler (she/her/hers) (@rachelzegler) August 12, 2024
Gadot, a former martial-arts instructor in the IDF, has posted many times on social media calling for the release of the hostages held by Hamas since the October 7 massacre and attack, about 115 of whom are still captives in Gaza. She reportedly helped arrange a screening in Los Angeles in late 2023 of a video compilation of the atrocities committed by Hamas, much of which was filmed by the terrorists themselves and released on social media. She also took activists to task for not believing that Israeli women were raped on October 7.
Comments on the Snow White trailer were overwhelmingly negative, with two main complaints. The first was that Gadot is so beautiful that it was impossible to believe that she would be jealous of Zegler. “If I was the prince, I would save Gal Gadot from Snow White,” one viewer wrote in the comments on the trailer on YouTube. Three days ago, Zegler addressed this assertion by posting a sexy photo of herself on Instagram with the caption, “the fairest btw.”
The second group who gave the trailer a thumbs-down were those who called for a boycott of the film on the grounds that Wonder Woman star Gadot is a Zionist and that any movie starring a Zionist should be boycotted.
“Gal Gadot playing a villain in this movie is perfect casting,” wrote one viewer alongside the Snow White trailer on YouTube. Another said, “The Zionist soldier baby-killer Gal Gadot is the perfect casting for the Evil Queen. Boycott this movie and any movie Gal Gadot takes part in.”
Gadot's post
Gadot wasn’t drawn into this debate but simply posted an Instagram story to her 108 million followers with a photo of the late civil rights crusader Martin Luther King Jr. and a quote from him, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Above the picture and quote, she posted, “Only love can save the world,” and beneath it, she posted her Hebrew signature.
In addition to posting the trailer, Gadot posted a photo and video clips of her at the D23 Disney event with Zegler, where the two, looking happy and comfortable with each other, smiled for the camera. Zegler has no photos on social media of herself with Gadot, although she has posted photos with other castmates. Zegler has also posted about calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and links to crowdfunding for charities that provide aid to Gaza.
As early as January, Newsweek predicted that there would be chilliness between Zegler and Gadot on the press tour, saying the two actresses were on a “collision course.” The article quoted an Instagram poster as saying, "That Snow White press tour is going to be VERY awkward with Genocide Barbie but good she's speaking for what's right. I don't see how you can be in a Hunger Games movie and be pro-Isr**l in this conflict.” Zegler recently starred in the latest Hunger Games film, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
Her big break in Hollywood came when she starred in a movie by another well-known Zionist, Steven Spielberg, who cast her as Maria in his West Side Story remake.
Those with a slightly longer memory than most social-media users will note that the anti-Israel movement has called for boycotts of nearly every movie Gadot has made in Hollywood, at least from the time she began starring as Wonder Woman. Some Arab countries, such as Lebanon, have refused to show her films, although reportedly Wonder Woman fans in these countries streamed them online.
Those with even longer memories will recall that Egypt banned Elizabeth Taylor, a convert to Judaism, from shooting scenes for Cleopatra there, because she had contributed to charities in Israel, and banned her movies. The films of another convert, Marilyn Monroe, were also banned in Egypt.
All this controversy stirred up by a fairy-tale movie trailer shows how politicized the world has become. One X user, Uri Kurlianchik, pointed out, “Disney have an interesting marketing strategy for Snow White. It co-stars Israeli Gal Gadot, making sure Israel-haters will boycott it, and Israel-hater Rachel Zegler, making sure pro-Israelis will be loathe to watch it. Is there some way to alienate neutral viewers too?”