At just 24 years old, Rachel Zegler has proven herself as a talented star of both the stage and screen. First becoming a household name thanks to her work on West Side Story (which is streaming with a Disney+ subscription), she took on more major roles in projects like Shazam! Fury of the Gods ,The Hunger Games, and Disney’s live-action movie Snow White. And she recently explained why she’s remained unbothered by the online criticism she’s been getting lately.
The backlash surrounding the actress seemed to begin when Zegler made negative comments about the animated Snow White movie. Things heated up even more online as a result of her political comments about the conflict between Israel and Hamas. In an interview with Glamour Magazine, she addressed the hate that’s constantly coming at her on social media. In her words:
Honestly, I’m a duck. It rolls right off my back these days. We just need to normalise our hearts’ not having boundaries. I think that there’s this idea that we as public figures can’t have thoughts or feelings because we are like paper dolls to a majority of the public.
That sounds like a pretty healthy way of handling things. The constant criticism could be overwhelming for any of us out there, especially while trying to continue a career as a public figure. But it seems like she’s not letting the hate bother her, and instead letting it wash over her like water off a duck’s back.
It sounds like the actress is standing by the comments she made that found her under online criticism. Zegler’s co-stars have come to her defense, but she seems like she’s got a strong sense of self. When asked how she stays grounded, the Hunger Games star said:
My love for the work. I am the one who showed up and did my work every day. Nobody can ever take that away from me. I made lifelong friends on that job. That kind of family doesn’t get dissipated by online discourse.
While the Snow White chatter might have been loud, Zegler has a ton of positive memories of working on the musical blockbuster. And since she made some strong friendships while playing the Disney Princess, she’s got no regrets about taking on the project… even if Snow White flopped at the box office.
Aside from her film career, Rachel Zegler has been keeping busy as a wildly successful theater actress. After making her Broadway debut in Romeo & Juliet opposite Kit Connor, she also starred in Evita on the West End. And it was just announced that she’ll return to the West End in The Last Five Years with Ben Platt. So clearly she’s not slowing down anytime soon.
A number of Zegler’s film projects are on Disney+. We’ll just have to wait and see what movies she signs up for next, on the 2026 movie release list and beyond.