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Shazam 2 Star Rachel Zegler Finally Addresses Snow White Casting Backlash


Rachel Zegler should be on top of the world right now, celebrating the success of West Side Story as well as her upcoming projects. However, the Shazam! Fury of the Gods star is also dealing with some backlash after she was cast as Snow White in Disney's live-action reboot. Now Zegler has finally addressed the casting and expressed her excitement about playing a Latina princess!

Last year, it was confirmed that Rachel Zegler will portray the fairy tale princess in the new retelling of Snow White. Although fans were thrilled about the casting, there were also negative reactions to a Latina actress playing the character.

It has been some time since the announcement was made and Zegler has finally addressed the backlash. The actress recently took part in Variety's Actors on Actors series with Andrew Garfield and Zegler admitted she never expected to be cast in such an iconic role.

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“Never in a million years did I imagine that this would be a possibility for me. You don’t normally see Snow Whites that are of Latin descent even though Snow White is really a big deal in Spanish-speaking countries,” Zegler said. ”Blanca Nieves is a huge icon whether you’re talking about the Disney cartoon or just different iterations and the Grimm fairy tale and all the stories that come with it. But you don’t particularly see people who look like me or are me playing roles like that.”

Zegler then added that she knew about the reactions to her casting but pointed out that she doesn't want to be bothered by all the hate.

”When it was announced, it was a huge thing that was trending on Twitter for days, because all of the people were angry. We need to love them in the right direction. At the end of the day, I have a job to do that I’m really excited to do. I get to be a Latina princess,” she said.

Zegler certainly takes it all in stride. With that in mind, we can't wait to see her as Snow White in the Disney flick.

Snow White has not yet been given an official release date. Stay tuned for more updates on this story.

Related: Disney’s Live-Action Remake of Snow White Won’t Feature Dwarfs

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