Walt Disney Studios is forgoing the glitz and glamour for the upcoming Los Angeles premiere of its live-action “Snow White” movie.
Variety reported this week that the studio is scaling down the film’s red carpet premiere on March 15, making it a smaller event than Disney’s typical big-budget premieres.
The smaller red carpet event will not be attended by media outlets that usually attend premieres to speak to the film’s cast and crew. Though film stars Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot are set to attend a pre-party and screening at L.A.’s El Capitan Theatre, media coverage will only include photographers and a house crew.
Disney did not reply to Fox News Digital’s questions about why the premiere was downsized, but the news comes as the film has been mired in controversy for years, stemming from the outspoken views of its lead actress, Zegler, as well as the film’s original portrayal of the Seven Dwarfs.
Zegler has courted social media backlash on a variety of occasions since the start of the film’s production, taking heat for comments slamming the themes of the classic 1937 version of “Snow White.”
During Disney’s D23 expo in 2022, the actress told the media, “I mean, you know, the original cartoon came out in 1937 and very evidently so. There’s a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird! Weird. So we didn’t do that this time.”
Zegler made other comments trashing what she perceived as the original film’s anti-feminist bent. The comments prompted a deluge of social media responses slamming her and the film.
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Since then, Zegler has dismissed her online critics, claiming that their response is simply due to her “outspokenness” and being “fearless” with her opinions.
Zegler courted even more backlash with her response to the 2024 presidential election. Following President Trump’s win last November, she posted on Instagram, “May Trump supporters and Trump voters and Trump himself never know peace.”
“F— Donald Trump,” she added. Shortly after sharing her post, the actress apologized, stating, “I let my emotions get the best of me. 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.”
Zegler started another internet firestorm earlier that year, writing, “And always remember, free Palestine” in an X post promoting the trailer for “Snow White.” Some wondered if the political message was a subtle dig at film co-star Gadot, who had defended her home country of Israel from anger and criticism following the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack in the country.
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In addition to the drama surrounding its leading lady, the film was delayed from its planned 2024 release until 2025, with some social media users speculating that the movie was being overhauled after backlash to progressive elements.
The film underwent a course correction early into production, when “Game of Thrones” actor Peter Dinklage — who has dwarfism — accused Disney in 2022 of being insensitive in its portrayal of the Seven Dwarfs.
The studio put out a statement in response, which stated, “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.”
However, the most recent trailers for the film revealed that Disney opted to portray the Seven Dwarfs similarly to how they were portrayed in the animated classic, albeit in CGI form. Social media users speculated the studio changed them again after social media backlash against the proposed modernized depiction of the characters.
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