Rachel Zegler Reflects on Public Backlash & How She Would've Handled Things If She Knew What Was to Come

Rachel Zegler is speaking out in response to backlash she has received over the years.

The Golden Globe-winning actress faced unjust criticism when she was cast as Snow White, with racist trolls saying she shouldn’t play the Disney icon because of the color of her skin. She also had people saying she wasn’t the right choice for West Side Story.

“I was told I wasn’t enough of one thing for West Side Story and too much of another for Snow White. It was a really confusing time to be in my early twenties and hearing that,” Rachel told Harper’s Bazaar UK.

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She added, “I grew up proud of being Colombian – eating the food, wearing the dresses, drinking the coffee, doing all the things that were so intrinsic to who I was as a kid and who I am as an adult – but I do think there’s an argument to be made that, in the public eye at least, when you’re two things, you’re simultaneously nothing. But I refuse to assimilate for anybody else’s comfort.”

Rachel later faced backlash for comments she made about the original Snow White movie and for her thoughts on political issues. It seems like she would’ve handled things differently if she knew what was going to come in the future.

“If I’d been able to predict everything that would come my way, the threats to my safety, I would have just thrown my phone into the ocean. I think any sane person would have,” Rachel said.

Rachel wishes she experienced fame at a later age.

She said, “I wish I’d had maybe five more years on me before all that happened – a little more of a frontal lobe. I was cast in 2019, but nobody would see the film until late 2021, so it felt like everyone was holding their breath in anticipation, while telling me to my face how I’d better not f*ck this up. I was a star, but with the caveat that I still had to prove myself.”

Rachel just reached a big milestone in her career.