Rachel Zegler Shares Ariana Grande’s Words Of Advice Amid Snow White Casting Backlash

Grande, who has grown up in the public eye, reached out to Zegler in the midst of the controversy surrounding Disney’s live-action Snow White remake.

“She reached out to me — kind of apropos of nothing — and was like, ‘If you need anything, I am here,'” the 23-year-old revealed in a new cover story for Allure.

“She is so deeply kind. She has gone through so much in the public eye, and I have always really, really admired her courage in the face of all of that.”

Zegler also shared how finding female friends in the industry can be challenging.

“All I’m ever really looking for in this business is a sister and they’re not always easy to find,” she said. “We’re often told that other women have to be your competition and I don’t subscribe to that. I really do believe in championing your friends and championing your coworkers, whether you’re close with them or not.

“So the second that there’s any intimidation or competition, just put on ‘Girl, so confusing’ by Charli XCX and talk it out,” the actress continued. “I’ve come to know that in the last couple of years, in search of female friendship in the industry, there is room for all of us no matter what anybody else will have you think.”

The comments come as rumors swirl among fans regarding an assumed “feud” between Zegler and her Snow White costar, Gal Gadot.

The latest of Disney’s live-action remakes has been clouded by backlash since Zegler’s casting, including the fact that she is a Latina in the lead role.

There has also been criticism over Zegler’s past remarks about the original film and her opinions on the 1937 classic’s outdated themes, like when she told Extra TV in 2022 that the animated film focused too much on a love story with “a guy who literally stalks her.”

In a separate Entertainment Weekly interview, Zegler admitted she had only watched the original movie once as a child because she found it frightening and never revisited it until she was cast.

Peter Dinklage also added to the controversy, weighing in on the film’s portrayal of little people in the live-action film.

“Literally no offense to anything, but I was sort of taken aback,” Dinklage said on the WTF With Marc Maron podcast in January 2022. “They were very proud to cast a Latino actress as Snow White, but you’re still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there.”

This led Disney to change its approach to casting little people, releasing a statement that said: “To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community.”