Disney's 'Snow White' Rachel Zegler apologizes for Trump re-election reaction: 'I let my emotions get the best of me'
Rachel Zegler apologized for comments she made after Donald Trump's re-election, which included "Fuck Donald Trump" and "May Trump supporters and Trump himself never know peace." Conservatives, particularly Megyn Kelly, condemned her words and asked that she be sacked from Disney's live-action film "Snow White."
Getty Images
"Hello, everyone. I truly apologize for the election-related message I published on Instagram last week. "I let my emotions get the best of me," Zegler posted on Instagram. "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."
She continued, "This week has been difficult for many of us, but I absolutely think that everyone has the right to their own viewpoint, even if it varies from mine. I am devoted to making a constructive contribution to a better tomorrow.
After the election, the "West Side Story" and "Romeo + Juliet" actress wrote in an Instagram story that she was "speechless" and expected "another four years of hatred."
"There is also a deep, deep sickness in this country that is shown in the sheer amount of people who showed up for this man who threatens our democracy," Zegler wrote of Trump, who defeated Kamala Harris in both the Electoral College and the popular vote. She went on to say, "Sending love to everyone who needs it today" and stressed the significance of local politics before signed off with, "Fuck Donald Trump."
Zegler, whose comments on "Snow White" had previously put her in the crosshairs of the culture war, was once again the target of right-wing wrath. Kelly lashed out at the 23-year-old actor on her SiriusXM radio show, shouting, "Hello, Disney!" You'll have to retake your film since this woman is a pig, and you dismissed Gina Carano for far less than this crap. She has to go. I'm sorry, Disney, she needs to go right now... "There is something wrong with this person."
Kelly was referring to Disney's dismissal of Carano from "The Mandalorian" after the actor compared the persecution of conservatives in America to that of Jews during the Holocaust.
Zegler, a Golden Globe-winning actor, is presently starring on Broadway in "Romeo + Juliet." She began her career in Steven Spielberg's adaptation of "West Side Story," and she later landed parts in "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" and "The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes," the "Hunger Games" spinoff. She also had a voice part in Netflix's animated feature "Spellbound" and appears in Kyle Mooney's catastrophe comedy "Y2K."