Steven Spielberg<\/strong>-directed musical.<\/span><\/p>\nThe backlash pulled in opposite directions across the two projects.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI was told I wasn\u2019t enough of one thing for \u2018West Side Story\u2019 and too much of another for Snow White<\/em>,\u201d Zegler said.<\/span><\/p>\nThat contradiction sits at the center of a broader experience Zegler described during the interview. She told Harper\u2019s Bazaar<\/em> that her cultural identity has always been an important part of her life, and she spoke warmly about the traditions that shaped her upbringing.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI grew up proud of being Colombian,\u201d she said. \u201cEating the food, wearing the dresses, drinking the coffee, doing all the things that were so intrinsic to who I was as a kid and who I am as an adult \u2014 but I do think there\u2019s an argument to be made that, in the public eye at least, when you\u2019re two things, you\u2019re simultaneously nothing. But I refuse to assimilate for anybody else\u2019s comfort.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nThat refusal appears to be deeply personal for Zegler, rooted in her family\u2019s experience.<\/span><\/p>\nThreats After Posting About Palestine<\/b><\/h2>\n
The casting controversy was not the only backlash Zegler addressed. During the press tour for Snow White<\/em>, she also faced criticism after posting on social media in support of Palestine.<\/span><\/p>\nIn 2024, days after unveiling the first trailer for Snow White<\/em> at the D23 Expo fan event, Zegler posted on X thanking fans for their support before adding, \u201cAnd always remember, free Palestine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nThe response was swift. Zegler said it included threats.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cIf I\u2019d been able to predict everything that would come my way, the threats to my safety, I would have just thrown my phone into the ocean,\u201d Zegler said. \u201cI think any sane person would have.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nWith the benefit of time, Zegler expressed a more measured view of how she uses her platform.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cYou live and you learn, and there\u2019s a caution that comes with that,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s an understanding that the temptation to speak doesn\u2019t always mean that it must be done, and that there are a lot of opportunities to make more meaningful change than a tweet.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nHelen Mirren and Lucy Liu stepped in<\/b><\/h2>\n
During one of the most difficult stretches, Zegler said support came from an unexpected source: her castmates on Shazam! Fury of the Gods.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nHelen Mirren<\/strong> and Lucy Liu<\/strong>, who spent time with her while she was working in Atlanta, offered advice about navigating the entertainment industry. For a young actress weathering a public firestorm, the guidance of experienced colleagues clearly made an impression.<\/span><\/p>\nThat experience, Zegler said, has since shaped how she approaches supporting other actors facing similar pressures.<\/span><\/p>\nReaching Out to the Next \u2018Hunger Games\u2019 S<\/b>tar<\/b><\/h2>\n
Zegler pointed specifically to Whitney Peak<\/strong>, who was cast in a new installment of The Hunger Games<\/em>. Zegler recently played Lucy Gray Baird in a 2023 installment called The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snake<\/em>s, so the franchise holds personal significance for her.<\/span><\/p>\nWhen Peak was cast, Zegler reached out directly.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cThat\u2019s why when Whitney Peak got cast in the new Hunger Games, I reached out to say, \u2018I\u2019m here, even though I hope to God you don\u2019t need me,\u2019\u201d Zegler said. \u201cAnd the next time a woman of color is cast as a Disney princess, I\u2019ll be there with bells on to support them, to lift them up, to advise and to tell them what not to do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n