With Disney's live-action Snow White film swirling in controversies, producer Marc Platt's son Jonah Platt has weighed in on who he believes trumped the film's odds. Under a Rachel Zegler fan's comment on Instagram, Jonah wrote that it was the lead actor's "actions" that harmed the film.
To dial back, Rachel has been outspoken in her support towards Palestine on social media. In August, she took to X to thank fans for the love on the Snow White trailer, though not without a reminder. "And always remember, free Palestine," she wrote.
As per Variety, the statement prompted Disney executives to contact the actor's team, with Marc flying out to speak to her in person. Defending Rachel, a user called out the act under a now-deleted Instagram post, "Your dad flew to NYC to reprimand a young actress? Any words on this? Because that's creepy as hell and uncalled for. People have the right to free speech, no? Shame on your father."
In response, Jonah said, "You really want to do this? Yeah, my dad, the producer of enormous piece of 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 in the middle of promoting the movie, for which she signed a multi-million dollar contract to get paid and do publicity for."
He added, "This is called adult responsibility and accountability. And her actions clearly hurt the film's box office. Free speech does not mean you're allowed to say whatever you want in your private employment without repercussions."
Blaming Rachel for jeopardising the efforts of the crew, he said, "Tens of thousands of people worked on that film, and she hijacked the conversation for her own immature desires at the risk of all the colleagues, crew, and blue-collar workers who depend on that movie to be successful. Narcissism is not something to be coddled or encouraged."
On Tuesday, Variety claimed that the period following the film's release had been rife with tension due to the political differences dividing Rachel and Israeli co-star Gal Gadot, who formerly served in the IDF.
Controversy sparked after Rachel referred to Gal as a "professional pageant queen" in an Instagram comment, following their Oscar appearances earlier this month. "She didn't understand the repercussions of her actions as far as what that meant for the film, for Gal, for anyone," an insider said.
Sources claimed that the two "got along well" during filming and that tensions escalated post-release. Disney's decision to separate them during promotions only added to the speculation.
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