Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot pose at the D23 Expo in 2022. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
(JTA) — When Rachel Zegler tweeted “free palestine” last year after sharing the trailer for her latest movie, the live-action “Snow White,” millions of people saw it — more than 9 million, as of this week.
But until Tuesday, few knew the extent to which Zegler’s one-line tweet caused a firestorm for Disney as well as her co-star, Israeli actress Gal Gadot.
According to an article in Variety, the tweet caused the movie’s Jewish producer, Marc Platt, to fly to New York to meet with Zegler face-to-face.
It was far from Platt’s first encounter with the issue. His wife is Julie Platt, the chair of the Jewish Federations of North America, which has raised hundreds of millions for Israel following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, which launched the war in Gaza. (Their son is the actor Ben Platt.)
The content of their conversation is unknown, but the tweet stayed up — and caused more fallout: Zegler’s Israeli costar Gal Gadot received death threats, which led Disney to hire additional security for her, according to Variety.
Months later, after last year’s election, Zegler posted “F— Donald Trump” and wished that his supporters “never know peace.” That triggered another conversation with Platt; Disney hired a social media advisor who would approve her posts until the movie’s premiere this month.
The controversies surrounding Zegler may be one reason Snow White opened last weekend to a box office of just $43 million domestically, which fell far short of expectations. The film had a production budget of $270 million and a marketing budget of $100 million.
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