Marking her 23rd birthday, the 'Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes' actress reflects on her tough year during which she endured a lot of hatred over her upcoming movie's 'woke' cast.
- May 4, 2024
AceShowbiz - Rachel Zegler went through a lot in the past year amid backlash over her upcoming "Snow White" movie. As she turned 23 years old on Friday, May 3, the actress reflected on "the hardest year" of her life and shared her wishes for "a lot less hatred."
The Golden Globe winner took to her Instagram Stories on Thursday night, May 2 to share a message on her birthday. Over a picture of her wearing a dress with the top of her head cropped out, she wrote, "The door is shutting on 22 right now, and wow! what a hard year! If you've been online to any degree, you probably know why."
"i am so grateful for the opportunity to learn where the love in my life truly lies and to have gotten my dog," she continued. "but I hope 23 holds a lot less hatred, a lot less being afraid for my safety in public, and a lot more understanding for growing up."
In a separate Story, Rachel rocked a black dress and added in the caption, "I also had a really nice time bringing you all tbosas ['The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes'] and I hope you know that it will always be considered (along with the acquisition of my dog) one of the bright spots of what I consider to be the hardest year of my life. ... so far."
Rachel, who made her film debut in Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story" (2021), became a target for online criticism and hate after she was cast as Disney's princess Snow White in an upcoming live-action film. As she defended her version of the tale, she came under fire for slamming the original film in press interviews.
"I just mean that it's no longer 1937 and we absolutely wrote a Snow White that is...," Rachel said in a video interview with Variety in 2023. Her co-star Gal Gadot then interjected, "She's not gonna be saved by the prince." Echoing her co-star, Rachel added, "She's not gonna be saved by the prince and she's not gonna be dreaming about true love."
The "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" star went on sharing about her character, "She's dreaming about becoming the leader. She knows she can be and the leader that her late father told her that she could be if she was fearless, fair, brave and true. So, it's just a really incredible story for young people everywhere to see themselves in."
In July of the same year, she asked to be left out of online discussion about the movie's "woke" cast. "extremely appreciative of the love i feel from those defending me online, but please don't tag me in the nonsensical discourse about my casting. i really, truly do not want to see it," the Hispanic actress tweeted.
