Why Does Everyone Suddenly Hate Rachel Zegler?

Rachel Zegler is one of the most talented young stars in Hollywood. She's known for her impressive acting chops, background in theater and powerful voice, as well as her breakout role in 2021's West Side Story.

So, why does she have so many haters?

Zegler's popularity began with the internet when she went viral for her cover of Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper's A Star Is Born duet, "Shallow," in 2018, when she was just a teenager.

From there, she earned the lead role of Maria in Stephen Spielberg's critically acclaimed West Side Story, and has since starred in Broadway's 2024 revival of Romeo + Juliet opposite Kit Connor as well as the Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes alongside Tom Blyth.

Though she received acclaim for those roles, as Disney ramps up the release of their live-action Snow White film starring Zegler, 23, in the titular role, haters have been crawling out of the woodwork online to slam everything from Zegler's physical appearance to her political views.

For one, she appears to be a victim of the internet's habit of admiring a popular young star (usually a woman, in most cases) until they decide to turn on them—something we've seen happen time and time again with accomplished celebrity women such as Jennifer Lawrence and Anne Hathaway.

The hostility toward Zegler first emerged about two year ago, following early interviews for Snow White in which she called the 1937 Disney animated film "dated," according to Variety. (Though a masterpiece of animation, it's fair to say the film is, indeed, objectively dated as it perpetuates views and values from the 1930s.)

She received backlash from passionate Disney fans toward her comments, including her remark that in the original film, the prince "literally stalks Snow White."

"She’s not going to be saved by the prince. She’s not going to be dreaming about true love. She’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be," Zegler said.

At the time, people accused her of trying to turn Snow White into a cringe "girl boss," even though Zegler did not write the new film or retool its main themes for a modern audience—Disney did.

Plus, disappointingly similar to what Halle Bailey endured when she won the role of Ariel for 2023's The Little Mermaid, some have protested against Zegler's casting as Snow White given that she is a Latina of Colombian-Polish descent. Racists online have even referred to her as "Snow Brown."

The hate for Zegler has been compounded by controversy surrounding her co-star Gal Gadot—who is an outspoken supporter of Israel, where she was born—while Zegler has made her support of a free Palestine clear in online posts.

Conservative Disney fans have also taken offense to Zegler's dislike of Trump and his reelection.

In November 2024, Zegler wrote on Instagram amid the presidential election: "May Trump supporters and Trump voters and Trump himself never know peace."

Her sentiment, though echoed by many on the left, was met with backlash, and she apologized soon after, writing: "I would like to sincerely apologize for the election post I shared on my Instagram last week. I let my emotions get the best of me. Hatred and anger have caused us to move further and further away from peace and understanding, and I am sorry I contributed to the negative discourse."

In addition, Zegler also faced criticism in 2023 after she revealed that she took her role in Shazam! Fury of the Gods because she "needed a job."

"I'm being so serious. The reality is we’re in the middle of a pandemic and I was not working and I couldn’t get a job for the life of me, because West Side Story hadn’t come out yet. It was really hard to book work for me," she explained, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Though she also expressed how excited she was to be in the film, many people took one part of her quote and ran with it, accusing her of being "annoying."

On the other hand, many fans have praised Zegler for her astounding talent and expressed sympathy for the hate she has received.

"The hate for Rachel Zegler underneath every post I see of her actually makes me want to scream and bang my head against a wall. I really hope that girl has a support system around her or just stays out of comment sections all together. It makes me so sad. She’s so young," one person tweeted.

"No more negative discourse on Rachel Zegler ... enough is enough ... she literally has done nothing to deserve this kind of vitriol," another person agreed in a tweet.

"I’m just gonna say it, Rachel Zegler is obviously extraordinarily talented, and the hate she gets is wildly overblown," someone else tweeted.

Early reviews of Snow White refer to Zegler as "an absolute star" and say that she delivers "a magical performance."