The “Snow White” Controversy, Like Our Zeitgeist, Is Both Stupid and Sinister

The Hollywood Reporter observed that the movie “has been under fire for years on social media due to a combination of the film’s progressive creative decisions”—presumably referring to Zegler’s casting—“and star Rachel Zegler’s controversial comments.” In a Variety article, which promised to take readers “Inside Disney’s ‘Snow White’ Fiasco,” a “top agent” rebuked the studio for permitting the twenty-three-year-old actress to “control the narrative” by making a lighthearted quip to a reporter about the stalker-like qualities of the original movie’s Prince Florian. The detail about Platt seemed to strain credulity, but it was later confirmed by his son Jonah, who wrote on Instagram, “Yeah, my dad, the producer of enormous piece of Disney IP with hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, had to leave his family to 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. The Platt anecdote and the framing of the Variety article in which it first appeared point to what is perhaps the most interesting aspect of the “Snow White” debacle: the film’s position in a larger narrative about which kinds of views on the Israel-Palestine conflict are acceptable in Hollywood—or anywhere in the U.S. circa 2025, really—and who is permitted to air them.

Author: Jessica Winter

---