Disney scraps UK Snow White premiere amid Rachel Zegler controversy

Disney has decided not to roll out the red carpet in London for its upcoming movie Snow White.
Disney bosses are refusing to hold a star-studded premiere over fears of an "anti-woke backlash" over its new interpretation of the story, instead opting for a handful of tightly controlled press events, reports The Daily Mail.
The film has been criticised ahead of its release for having a Snow White played by Latin actor Rachel Zegler, which has been seen as part of Disney's recent push for more culturally representative storytelling.
For her part, Zegler has gone on record with controversial comments about her role.
In a 2022 interview Zegler called the original film "dated" and critiqued elements such as Snow White's relationship with Prince Charming as a "guy who literally stalks her", as well as calling the film "weird".
After its original 2024 release date was postponed due to the 2023 Hollywood strikes, Snow White is now set for release on 21 March.
When the first trailer dropped in December 2024, it racked up more than a million dislikes, based largely on what was seen as its overuse of CGI.
Anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian activists have called for a boycott of the movie over Disney's casting of Israeli actress Gal Gadot as the evil queen.
Gadot, who starred in the Wonder Woman movies, has publicly advocated for Israel over the years. Meanwhile, Zegler promoted the film's trailer with a "Free Palestine" tag.