Rachel Zegler’s Remarks Regarding Snow White Have Been Roundly Criticized, and Her Competitor, Brett Cooper, Will Play Snow White in Another Film, “Snow White and the Evil Queen” (2024)
Fans have criticized the live-action Snow White for casting Rachel Zegler, a Latina, even though the original Snow was described "as "White as Snow," changing the storyline and replacing the seven magical dwarfs with magical creatures" at first announced in September 2022. [11] Rachel's remarks sparked great controversy among several news outlets.
On September 9, 2022, Rachel told Variety at the D23 Expo, "...it's no longer 1937. We absolutely wrote a ‘Snow White’ that... she’s not going to be saved by the prince, and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love; she’s going to be dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be and that her late father told her she could be if she was fearless, fair, brave, and true." [11] She also describes Snow's prince as “a guy who literally stalks her” and “weird". [1][11]
Her September 26, 2022, Entertainment Weekly interview revealed that she only watched the original Snow White movie as a child, which scared her, and she never watched it again. [2] [4]
Peter Suggests That Adding Dwarfs to the Film Would Be Offensive
Actor Peter Dinklage tells Disney, “It makes no sense” to include the seven magical dwarfs in the live-action film. [8] He added, "You're still making that fucking backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave; what the fuck are you doing, man?" [1] [8]
While Peter, a dwarf actor, was the only dwarf in the movie, Disney hired normal-sized adults to replace the six magical dwarfs and renamed them as "magical creatures" to avoid offending the dwarf community. [9] [8] However, the dwarf community says Peter's comments didn't represent them and that the roles were for them, not normal-sized actors. [10]
Rachel Zegler’s New Rival: Brett Cooper
This controversy drew backlash from fans and news outlets, leading Daily Wire production to compete and announce Snow White and the Evil Queen (2024) on October 16, through a YouTube trailer. [7] [5]The company insisted on keeping Snow White's original story and cast Brett Cooper as Snow, hiring real dwarf actors. [7] [9]
On October 27, Rachel posted a new teaser photo of the Disney live-action Snow White on X (previously known as Twitter) showing her as Snow along with seven CGI magical dwarfs. The film's release date was changed from March 22, 2024, to March 21, 2025. [9] It also suggests that the film has been changed to avoid a box office disaster.
Comments and Feedback of Moi
When I heard this story, I laughed so hard that I had to clutch my invisible pearls. Even when Rachel was being interviewed, she said that Snow White's story had been changed to find out who could be the most just to be the best leader. [2] What does that even mean? Is the evil queen going to ask the magic mirror, "Who is the most just of them all?" That literally made no sense. "Who was the fairest of them all?" was the story's point. A narcissistic queen who was seeking her validation through a mirror.
Snow White's original story was about which woman is more beautiful, the evil queen or Snow, and Snow is the more beautiful one because of her kind heart and beauty. According to the story, the evil queen’s appearance was also beautiful, but she had a mean heart and didn't care about anyone but herself. Imagine meeting someone with a beautiful appearance and facial structure who was selfish and self-centered when you got to know them; they represent the evil queen.
Snow cared about people and was gentle. She wasn't the type of woman who wanted to be in charge and would pull out a sword while wearing a dress to defeat the evil queen. Because she loves people like a mother, she wanted to fall in love, have a prince rescue her, and help others. Animals would always come up to her without hesitation. This means animals can sense compassion when they approach people without hesitation.
Saying that it would be offensive to have dwarf actors in the movie is something Peter Dinklage ought to think twice about. Because of this, Disney gave the seven magical dwarf roles to normal-size adults, received criticism, and fired them to replace them with CGI dwarfs (AI). This is why many are concerned that AI would replace actor jobs in order to save time or money and avoid dealing with humans. Peter didn't mind working in the Elf movie that poked fun at his size, but he now disapproves of dwarf actors playing the seven mystical dwarfs in the film.
Because Rachel Zegler, 22, and I are the same age, I don't think she should be harassed and hated online for expressing her true opinion. However, being brutally honest may come at a cost. If you're a celebrity and get asked through an interview to critique someone else's creative work—film, writing, music, someone's acting, or otherwise—be neutral or praise it. Never make negative comments about it, as the media will use it against you and jeopardize your career.
Due to her backlash with Disney, which started in September 2022, Rachel lost a major role in Paddington 3 (2025). [13] This shows that no film production wants to work with someone who will make their audiences go mad and not watch their film before release.
Walt Disney Left Behind a Legacy
Walt Disney was born in Chicago and has been an artist since he was 18. He studied 2D animation and took art classes. He also had a steady job, borrowed a massive loan, drew cartoons in his brother's garage, and risked everything to lead a team to make Snow White (1937). [3][12]
Since he led a team of writers, 2D animators, painters to color every frame rate, hired models for posture references, gathered advertisers to promote the film, and talented voice actors who voiced Snow and the other characters, they worked long hours to make Disney what it is today.
Walt's son said he would be furious if he was here. [1] And I'll be damned if I ever write a successful story and some schmuck writer rewrites it to appeal to a particular audience or to fulfill their own agenda.
A woman who had been missing for 30 years was found in a barrel: Reyna Angelica Marroquín
In New York, Ronald Cogen, a Long Island suburbs homeowner, had to clean out the home before moving out on September 2, 1999. He found an unopened barrel in his house, under a crawl space. He took it outside, opened it, and inside, he found a human hand and a woman's shoe, with a foul stench. Immediately, he called the police.
Within the barrel was a Hispanic woman who was 27 years old and nine months pregnant. Her name was Reyna Angelica Marroquin, and she was mummified for over 30 years. There was also a pocketbook and a plastic green flower stem with leaves inside. The barrel had a serial number that linked it to Melrose Plastics Factory, a company that went out of business in 1972.
Reyna Angelica Marroquín's backstory: El Salvador to the U.S.
Among many immigrants, Reyna Angelica Marroquín had an American Dream. Born in El Salvador on December 2, 1941, she left home at 24 years old in August 1966 to start a new life after suffering the loss of her marriage upon discovering her husband had an affair with a mistress who became pregnant with his child.
“I’m going to be someone. I’m going to be someone someday,” Reyna often told her mother before crossing the US border.
In the U.S., she lived in New York, took English lessons and citizenship classes, and became a permanent resident. She worked several jobs, including as a nanny. After seeing and admiring American fashion, she knew she wanted to work in the fashion industry. So she enrolled in classes at the High School of Fashion Industries while working at her steady job for a company called Melrose Plastics Factory on East 34th Street in Manhattan, a factory that makes plastic flowers, owned by Howard B. Elkins.
Reyna's best friend Kathy Adneade told CBS in 2000, “She was fascinated by New York. She was so happy here…She was full of life, eager to learn. She loved this country very much.”
Reyna did not have much and lived in a room at a Catholic home for women. She made new friends, visited museums, followed her passion for Fashion, and eventually found a love interest, Howard B. Elkin, her 28-years-old boss. He had a family, a wife and children. He lived not so far from his work. His neighbor, Frank, Lonano, described him as a “very social fellow.”
The Unexpected Pregnancy, Reyna's Relationship with Howard
Together, Reyna and Howard would go out frequently on dates. They hid the relationship from their family, friends, and coworkers. Above all, Elkin did not want his wife to know about his affair.
Little is known about their relationship. Reyna's and Howard's relationship may have been casual, or maybe they were deeply in love, or she actually believed that Howard cared about her when he actually didn't, given the fact that Howard was known to exploit his immigrant workers.
However, in the spring of 1968, Kathy noticed Reyna was crying in her room, all alone and sitting on her bed. Reyna told Kathy that she was pregnant; she was going to have a baby with Elkin. Kathy told CBS, “She wanted to run away from the problem.” Reyna told Howard about the news of her pregnancy. Howard then bought her a new apartment and a personal doctor to hide her pregnancy from his wife. This gave Reyna the impression that he genuinely cared about her and was making an effort to take care of their unborn child.
Reyna, nine months pregnant, repeatedly asked him to leave his wife, but he refused. She eventually called his wife in frustration, telling the wife about the affair and her pregnancy. Howard angrily called back and threatened to kill her.
Fearing for her life, Reyna confided in Kathy about her life-threatening situation. Kathy showed up at Marroqun's apartment, but Reyna wasn't there, but the food on the stove was. Given the fact that it was wintertime, Reyna's coat and boat were also there. Kathy became scared and alerted the authorities, but they refused to take her report because she was not a family member.
“I got scared,” Kathy told Forensic Files Producers. “I walked into the police station, and I spoke to the officer. And he says, ‘Are you a relative of the young lady?’ I said, ‘No, I’m only a friend…But she's pregnant. She’s about to have a baby.’ He said, ‘Oh, you know, she probably went shopping....’"
The day of Reyna's murder and Her Disappearance for Thirty Years
In January 1969, Howard went to Reyna's apartment or lured her to his office at the factory to execute her. He beat her to death, then took her body to his home in the suburbs of Long Island, put the body in a barrel, and filled the barrel with plastic pellets. He wanted to sink her in the ocean with heavy plastic pellets. But he couldn't lift the barrel to his boat because it became too heavy. Because of this, he placed the barrel in a crawl space inside his house and attached a flyer that said, “This barrel is too heavy for us to take. Please call the sanitation Dept. to schedule a special Pick-up. — Thanks.
Eventually, Howard retired, sold his suburban house, and relocated to Boca Raton, Florida. Along with four generations of homeowners, the barrel sat in the crawl space for 30 years, untouched and unnoticed unti 1999, when Ronald Cogen opened it and called the police.
After gathering evidence and facts linking Howard to the crime of Reyna's murder and her unborn child, the detectives flew to Boca Raton, Florida, to talk to Howard. According to the detectives, Howard became uneasy and uncooperative. He replied "yes" when asked if he had ever had an affair with another woman. When detectives asked him to describe her appearance, he said that it had been years, and he couldn't remember how she looked. The detectives then pulled out a DNA kit and asked him to volunteer to give over his DNA. Howard refused and asked them to leave.
Before leaving, one of the detectives, Brian Parpan, glanced back and told Howard, “I’m gonna come back with that court order. And I’m going take your blood and match your blood to the dead baby and that dead girl. Then I’m gonna come back here and arrest you for murder.
Howard then immediately went to Walmart, purchased a shotgun, and then shot himself in his car at a neighbor's garage. His son found him dead in the back seat with no pants on. The detectives tested his blood for DNA and found that he was the father of Reyna's unborn child, which proved he had committed the murder of Reyna Angelica Marroquín and their unborn child.
After 30 Years, Reyna’s Family in El Salvador Finally Hears the News
Oscar Corral, a journalist, went to El Salvador to find Reyna's family and tell them what happened. They had not known what had happened to her for years. In San Marin, a small village outside of San Salvador, he broke the news to 95-year-old Reyna’s mother while sitting on the porch. She started to cry when she saw photos of her daughter, Reyna, in a barrel. She said she had dreams about her daughter calling for help in a barrel that had hunted her for three decades.
Oscar Corral told Forensic Files Producers, "When she saw her daughter's picture, she almost fainted...She immediately begins to weep...She told me she had dreams about her daughter for 30 years. She told me she had a dream, even, that her daughter was in a barrel."
Reyna was buried in El Salvador; her mother died a month later and was buried alongside her. Before she was murdered, Reyna left El Salvador because her husband had a mistress who was pregnant with her husband’s child. When she fled to New York City for a new life, she found herself in the same situation, but instead, she was the pregnant mistress of a married man named Howard. A last message through a paper note was found in the barrel alongside Reyna and her unborn child that reads, “Don’t be mad. I told the truth," directly messaged Howard.
My Commentary: Reyna Marroquín Murder Case
Reyna used her loss as motivation in her true story. Instead of being resentful about her husband cheating on her and getting another woman pregnant, she used it as fuel to focus on herself and would tell her mother that she was going to be someone someday. Like they say, sometimes you may find success in the worst times. Because after her husband cheated, she moved to the U.S. She learned English and took citizenship classes. She found her passion for fashion in NYC. She had a steady job while attending fashion classes. She was curious, energetic, and eager to learn. Even if someone is at their lowest point, she proved that anyone can pull themselves up and accomplish anything.
Howard B. Elkins. He was foul and had no respect for his marriage. If he knew he wanted to stay with his wife, he should’ve respected his marriage by not going on dates with Reyna. This is what these losers would do when they were told the truth: they would keep quiet for years about things they knew they did wrong and then use violence out of fear that the truth would be heard. Instead of telling Reyna and his wife the truth, he killed Reyna to keep her from telling his wife. He did this to put his own wants and needs ahead of Reyna and his own unborn child. A disgusting man and a demon were terrified of the truth and used violence out of cowardice.
So, be careful who you have in your life. From my personal experience, once I noticed someone who doesn't have empathy when tragedy happens, I immediately cut them out of my life because you never know what they might do—lie to you, steal all your hard work, or put you in danger without caring. You should never want to be associated with people who lack empathy when a tragedy happens, ignore you instantly like you don't exist, and think their wants and needs are more important than yours. That's what happened to Reyna. She wanted a fresh start and to let go of her past, but she met a satanic being along the way. She let him into her life only to have him not care about her, which cost her life.
Journalism: Learning the Ropes of How to Conduct Interviews
Before conducting journalistic interviews, I want to learn about the 16 personality types, characteristic traits, and a wide range of psychology in various fields to determine the interviewee's personality type and traits in one interview. This will help me understand others' perspectives and personalities and enter journalism even further instead of solely relying on learning materials.
The recording equipment I will use as a writer is a tape recorder with a microphone that requires cassette types. Each cassette type will have the interviewee's name, the date, and the time written on the back of it. My version is that I will schedule a 30-minute interview with an individual, find a time and place, be prepared with my questions on a clipboard and take notes, and most importantly, study the topics I will discuss. I know I go
One thing that makes a journalist so successful is they may come across someone who has a good story but doesn't know how to share it, and the journalist can help them to share their story.
The movie Goodfellas, for example, was based on the book "Wise Guy," written by Nicholas Pileggi. Nicholas, a crime reporter in New York, discovered Henry Hill, the main character of the book and movie. He wrote a book about Henry's life in the New York mafia, his wealth and luxury, and the challenges and risks he faced. For two years, Nicholas would conduct a daily phone interview with Henry, meeting with him in various locations, including law offices, hotels, restaurants, cars, and parks.
This is impressive! Nicholas kept in touch with Henry for two years, interviewed him, and wrote a book about his life, which became a successful hit in the publishing and entertainment industries. This is something I’m trying to follow in Nicholas’s footsteps by interviewing others to help someone share their story if they don’t know how. It also shows how powerful journalism can be.
Sources Down Below
Crosbie, E. (2023, August 23). The new 'Snow White' remake won't be out for months but it's already at the center of a heated controversy. Insider. Retrieved from https://www.insider.com/disney-snow-white-2024-cast-release-date-controversy-2023-8
Bajamonti, N. (2023, July 27). Snow White star Rachel Zegler reveals live-action film CHANGES the meaning of the iconic line, 'Who is the fairest of them all?' Daily Mail. Retrieved from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-12344685/Snow-White-star-Rachel-Zegler-reveals-live-action-film-CHANGES-meaning-iconic-line-fairest-all.html
Disney's 100-year journey from garage studio to media empire. (2023, October 16). Reuters. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/disneys-100-year-journey-garage-studio-media-empire-2023-10-16/#:~:text=Oct%2016%20(Reuters)%20%2D%20In,out%20of%20their%20uncle's%20garage.
E]ntertainment Weekly. (2022, September 26). Rachel Zegler & Gal Gadot on Reimagining 'Snow White' | Entertainment Weekly. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDBdoafhIfE&t=5s
imbrettcooper. (2023, October 16). Instagram. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyeTNngtFK9/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igshid=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
Linder, C. (2020, June 25). This AI Robot Just Nabbed the Lead Role in a Sci-Fi Movie. Popular Mechanics. Retrieved from https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/robots/a32968811/artificial-intelligence-robot-movie-star-erica/
Screen Culture. (2023, October 24) Snow White and the Evil Queen – Full Trailer (2024) Brett Cooper | Daily Wire's Bentkey. YouTube. Retrieved from
Shoard, C. (2022, January 25). Peter Dinklage criticises Disney for ‘backwards’ remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The Guardian. Retireved from https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/jan/25/peter-dinklage-disney-remake-snow-white-and-the-seven-dwarfs
Stenzel, W. (2023, October 27). See first look at Rachel Zegler as Snow White and Disney's new 7 dwarfs. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved from https://ew.com/movies/rachel-zegler-disney-snow-white-and-seven-dwarfs-first-look/
This Morning. (2022, February. 'It's One Person Representing a Community' The Actors Disputing Peter Dinklage's Snow White View |TM. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZNSjQ8JMY4
Variety. (2022, September 9). Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot on Bringing a New Modern Edge to 'Snow White.' YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RVg3yetTE4&t=1s
WALT!DISNEY!TIMELINE. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.waltdisney.org/sites/default/files/Walt%20Disney%20Timeline_0.pdf
Burlingame. K. (2023, September 26). ‘Snow White’ Star Rachel Zegler Just Lost Major Role, Disney May Search for Her Replacement. Inside the Magic. Retrieved from
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