Snow White Producer’s Son Blames Rachel Zegler For Movie’s Failure In Explosive Rant
By fypfeed | Movies & TV | 28th March 2025
A Family Feud Goes Public
The live-action Snow White remake has been one of the most controversial projects for the studio in recent years, and the drama has spilled into the producer’s personal life. Jonah Platt, the son of producer Marc Platt, unleashed a brutal post on Instagram accusing the lead actor Rachel Zegler for the movie’s unsatisfactory performance.
In a post that has since been deleted, Jonah accused the 23-year-old Golden Globe winner of “narcissism” and “immaturity,” arguing that her political opinions threw off the film’s release and hurt its image at the box-office. The post sparked a an online debate that raged, adding another chapter to an story already rife with boycotts, criticisms and heated discussions about culture.
Box Office Struggles and Rotten Tomatoes Woes
The numbers are depressing for the high-budget Disney gamble. Snow White reportedly cost about 270 million to make, but the opening weekend only managed an estimated $87 million. After a full one week in theaters had not yet crossed the $100 million mark, which is an alarming indicator for a film with the cost of a movie with such a large cost.
On the negative side the picture wasn’t significantly better. The film currently has an average of 42% score in Rotten Tomatoes, cementing its place as one of the weakest Disney live-action remakes of the year.
A brand that is founded on a magical story and box-office dominance this subpar response was enough to cause a stir. However, Jonah Platt believes the financial failure has a specific cause: Rachel Zegler.
The Deleted Instagram Rant
In response on the Instagram user who slammed Jonah’s father on Instagram in the context of “flying to New York to scold a young actress,” Jonah continued to defend his father with an emotionally rebuttal of father’s actions.
“Yeah, my dad, the producer of enormous Disney IP with hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, had to leave his family to fly across the country to reprimand his 20-year-old employee for dragging her personal politics into the middle of promoting the movie for which she signed a multi-million dollar contract,” Jonah wrote.
He went further, describing Zegler’s conduct “immature” and accusing her of putting her personal desires over thousands of colleagues or crew members who relied for the movie’s success.
“This is called adult responsibility and accountability,” Jonah said. “Her actions are clearly detrimental to the box office of the film. Narcissism should not be encouraged or coddled.”
The rant was swiftly deleted but not before the screenshots were shared on social media, triggering an uproar of discussion.
Rachel Zegler’s Political Posts
At the root of Jonah’s rage is Zegler’s statements on social media. According to the report in the Variety article, the social media posts included admonitions of the former U.S. President Donald Trump and a pledge of support for Palestine in the ongoing conflict with Israel.
One tweet, in particular, attracted attention. After posting an official Snow White trailer Zegler tweeted: “And always remember, free Palestine.”
The insiders reported that this raised concerns at Disney particularly because Gal Gadot–Zegler’s co-star on the Evil Queen Israeli and was in the IDF. After Zegler’s post, Gadot reportedly faced a surge of threats on the internet which Disney executives believed could be related to the controversies.
The Gal Gadot Factor
Casting of Gal Gadot has been a source of controversy. The actress is known worldwide for her role as Wonder Woman, Gadot’s Israeli origins and prior IDF service have been a source of controversy in discussions about politics.
As Zegler’s tweets circulated, tensions grew. Some people accused Disney of being reckless for not controlling the message among its celebrities, and others believed that Zegler had every right to voice her political views.
For viewers, the battle of Zegler and Gadot turned into a symbol of larger international conflicts which left the film in the midst of a global culture conflict.
Casting Backlash and Other Controversies
The problem didn’t begin with tweets from politicians. From the time Zegler was hired, Disney faced backlash. A lot of conservative critics claimed that the hiring of a Colombian-Polish actor to play Snow White “broke tradition” for one of the most famous characters.
However progressive fans have criticized Zegler for calling the first 1937 feature “dated” and “weird,” saying she didn’t have respect for the legacy of Disney.
In the meantime, the studio received complaints from disabled advocates for not casting actors who have dwarfism instead choosing the “magical creatures” redesign of the Seven Dwarfs. This led to allegations the Disney was more focused on the visual aspect than in real representation.
Take these two controversies with the knowledge that The film Snow White has been on shaky grounds long before the release.
Fans and Critics React
Jonah’s tirade fueled the fire. A few social media users praised Jonah because he was “saying what many people were thinking,” while others condemned him for focusing on an actress who is just starting out instead of making sure he held Disney accountable.
For instance, on X (formerly Twitter), one user wrote: “Rachel Zegler was hired as an actress, not as a public relations machine at Disney. Her free speech shouldn’t get punished simply because a studio is looking for profits .”
Another response was: “You don’t get paid millions only to ruin the entire process with personal political opinions. Jonah Platt is 100% right .”
The critics, however they took a more cautious perspective. A number of industry experts suggested that the film’s troubles could result from a mix of causes: Disney fatigue from too many remakes, a weak marketing strategy, and a lack of enthusiasm from fans due to the fights over casting and representation.
The Bigger Picture: Free Speech vs Professionalism
The heart of this story is an age-old controversy about whether or not celebrities should be able to keep their personal life distinct from their professional work or do they have a duty to make use of their platforms, regardless of consequences?
To Jonah Platt, the answer is simple: Zegler should have focused on promotion of the film. For her critics who want to silence an actress for expressing her opinions is unjust and absurd in this time of social media.
The tension doesn’t just exist in Disney. Hollywood has struggled for a long time with the tension between entertainment and activism From Jane Fonda’s anti-Vietnam movement in 1970 through current debates on Gaza, Israel, and the global conflict.
What This Means for Disney
For Disney its fans, the aftermath is extremely hurtful. The studio has been a victim of numerous disputes over the recent live-action remakes of its films including The Little Mermaid to Peter Pan & Wendy. Many claim that fatigue from Zegler’s work is what caused Snow White stumbled.
Yet, the optics of the son of the producer blaming the film’s main character have made the situation worse. Instead of uniting the public the argument has only caused them to be divided.
As Disney anticipates future projects as they plan for the future, the Snow White saga can serve as a cautionary story that even the most captivating of stories may unravel when representation, politics, and studio expectations clash.
Conclusion
Jonah Platt’s fiery rant against Rachel Zegler has spotlighted deeper tensions within the Hollywood industry, namely between artistic and corporate desires in addition to personal responsibility and professional expression and between tradition and innovation.
Whether the political posts of Zegler actually sank the film or if Snow White was plagued by the general market fatigue there is one thing that is certain the film remake resulted in Disney without answers and more doubts.
And as viewers remain engaged on the internet, Snow White‘s legacy could be being remembered less for its fairytale magical ambiance and more for the raging real-world drama it sparked.
