The 'West Side Story' actress has fired back at the internet trolls for taking issues with her casting as a Disney Princess in the upcoming movie to be directed by Marc Webb.
- Jun 25, 2021
AceShowbiz - Acting newcomer Rachel Zegler has responded to critics who insist a Latina cannot play Snow White by quipping she has no plans to bleach her skin for the role.
Zegler, whose debut film "West Side Story" is due for release later this year (21), was just cast as Snow White in an upcoming live-action Disney movie.
Predictably, Internet trolls were quick to argue that a Latina actress should not be playing a character who is described as having "skin as white as snow," but the rising star hit back by shutting down the haters on social media.
In a since-deleted tweet, the 20-year-old actress/singer responded, "Yes i am snow white no i am not bleaching my skin for the role (sic)," Glamour U.K. reports.
R&B singer Halle Bailey received similar abuse after being cast as Ariel in Disney's planned remake of "The Little Mermaid". She is the first black princess in a live-action Disney film since singer Brandy played Cinderella in 1997.
Zegler has already garnered praise for her role as Maria in Steven Spielberg's remake of legendary musical "West Side Story".
The celebrated 1961 film version won multiple Oscars, including Best Supporting Actress for Rita Moreno, but cast Russian-born Natalie Wood as Maria, a character who is supposed to be from Puerto Rico.
Spielberg told Vanity Fair in 2020 that he wanted "authenticity" in his version of the musical.
Production on the to-be-named "Snow White" film, which will be directed by Marc Webb, is expected to begin in 2022.
