Rachel Zegler reveals the one star who was ‘so deeply kind’ to her during all that ‘Snow White’ drama

Snow White star Rachel Zegler has revealed the fellow actresses who reached out to her amid all the controversy surrounding the upcoming Disney live-action remake. 

For those unaware, Zegler became the subject of intense racist backlash back in 2021, when she was named in the role of the titular princess. Scores of trolls deemed the actress, who is Latina, unworthy to play the character, since Snow White is described as having “skin as white as Snow” in the original fairytale. While it was far from the only controversy to plague the Disney adaptation (more on that later), Zegler has since revealed that Ariana Grande was “so deeply kind” when reaching out to her ahead of the film’s release. 

Rachel Zegler says Ariana Grande reached out to her offering support.

“[She] was like, ‘If you need anything, I’m here.’ She’s so deeply kind. She’s gone through so much in the public eye and I’ve always admired her courage in the face of all of that.”

(https://t.co/739YGrYCRu) pic.twitter.com/dmGECmNMZh

— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) March 18, 2025

“[Grande] reached out to me… and was like, ‘If you need anything, I am here,’” Zegler said in a recent interview with Allure magazine, adding that the pop star/actress “is so deeply kind.” Zegler went on to share the similarities between herself and Grande as young women in the spotlight, saying Grande “has gone through so much in the public eye, and I have always really, really admired her courage in the face of all of that.” If anyone knows of the hardships that come with perpetual scrutiny, it’s Grande, but Zegler said she received support from others in Hollywood, too. 

For her part, it was The Good Place star Jameela Jamil (also no stranger to controversy) who was “like a sister” to Zegler amid all that racist backlash, while Helen Mirrin and Lucy Liu, who co-starred opposite Zegler in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, “have been my keepers in all of this, where I feel very held by them.” While it’s nice to have that support, Zegler has showcased her ability to have her own back, too. Amid the height of the racist public commentary around her casting, Zegler took to social media with a stern message to the haters in a since-deleted post. 

Rachel Zegler as Snow White in ‘SNOW WHITE’ pic.twitter.com/AwzeWi60DN

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) August 10, 2024

“Yes I am Snow White [and] no I am not bleaching my skin for the role,” she wrote at the time. Get ‘em, Rach! On top of the legions of trolls who were nitpicking about a fairytale that was quite literally written hundreds of years ago, Snow White has also endured controversy from other angles. For starters, there was the backlash against Gal Gadot, who stars as the Evil Queen, following her vocal support of Israel amid the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. Then came the negative response to news that Disney had not cast little people in the roles of the seven dwarfs, and had instead opted for CGI versions of the characters. 

All of that without even mentioning the (unnecessary) input from Piers Morgan, or fans’ general disappointment with the look and style of the film after the release of the trailer. All the hullabaloo got so intense, in fact, that it was reported last week that Disney had scaled-down the film’s premiere to minimize any further negative press. It remains to be seen whether all the behind-the-scenes drama will completely engulf the film, with Snow White set to hit cinemas on March 21, 2025.