Sean Ono Lennon, the offspring of artistic icon Yoko Ono and the late Beatles legend John Lennon, has unleashed a scathing critique against Rachel Zegler, the rising star who captivated audiences in Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story" and garnered praise as one of the few bright spots in Disney's critically lambasted live-action reboot of "Snow White." Despite her positive reception, Zegler has unexpectedly found herself at the center of a maelstrom of vitriol, labeled as the target of a concerted "smear campaign" aimed at the 23-year-old actress.
Allegations have surfaced that pre-release remarks by Zegler stirred disquiet among the film's producers, and she is now being scapegoated for the movie's disappointing box office returns. These comments, which included expressions of anti-Trump sentiments, appear to have incited online trolls to lambaste her off-screen persona, resulting in a wave of negative reviews that have propelled "Snow White" into the ranks of IMDb's worst films of all time.
Following the fiery denunciation launched by the son of "Snow White" producer Marc Platt and Russell Brand's description of her as "haughty," Lennon weighed in on the heated debate surrounding Zegler. Though acknowledging that the "vilification" of the actress had crossed a line, Lennon added in a since-deleted tweet: "Yet, she behaves like a pampered, unappreciative, and disconnected brat. It's hardly surprising."
This post came on the heels of another in which Lennon hailed Zegler and her co-star Gal Gadot as "exceptionally beautiful women," a rebuttal to sexist postings that criticized their appearance.
Zegler first stirred controversy among conservative and right-wing critics in 2023 when she hinted that the remake would embrace a feminist narrative, departing from the 1937 original. "It's not 1937 anymore; she won't be rescued by a prince or dream of true love," she asserted in an interview. "She dreams of becoming the leader she knows she can be." Prior to the film's release, Zegler reportedly softened her stance after consulting with a Disney-funded social media specialist who vetted her posts.
As a Colombian-American actress, Zegler also faced backlash from right-wing circles unhappy with the casting of a person of color in the lead role. Moreover, Donald Trump supporters lambasted her for her Instagram post denouncing the "four years of hatred" a potential Trump reelection would usher in. She subsequently apologized for "contributing to negative discourse."
After a "Variety" article revealed that Platt had traveled to New York to address Zegler's support for Palestine, his son Jonah penned a scathing post accusing her of "injecting her personal politics into the midst of promoting a movie for which she signed a multimillion-dollar contract." Jonah continued, "This is called adult responsibility and accountability. Her actions clearly harmed the film's box office. Free speech does not grant immunity from repercussions in one's professional endeavors. Tens of thousands of individuals worked on that film, and she derailed the conversation to fulfill her own immature whims, jeopardizing her colleagues, crew, and blue-collar workers who rely on the film's success. Narcissism should not be pampered or encouraged."
After its second weekend in theaters, "Snow White" had recovered just half of its estimated $230 to $270 million budget.
