Rachel Zegler opened up about the backlash she faced after being cast in West Side Story and Snow White. Zegler said she was told she was “not enough of one thing” for West Side Story and “too much of another” for Snow White.
In an recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Zegler described the criticism as confusing, especially while she was in her 20s. She said she grew up proud of her Colombian heritage and culture.
She thinks that in public, people with mixed backgrounds are sometimes treated like they don’t belong anywhere. Even with the criticism, she said she will not change who she is just to make others comfortable.
Zegler said, “I was told I wasn’t enough of one thing for West Side Story and too much of another for Snow White.”
Zegler added, “It was a really confusing time to be in my early twenties and hear that. I grew up proud of being Colombian — eating 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 — but I do think there’s an argument to be made that, in the public eye at least, when you’re two things, you’re simultaneously nothing. But I refuse to assimilate for anybody else’s comfort.”
Her mother, on the other hand, built her life “in an era of assimilation being a tactic for survival” — very much the image of immigration we see portrayed in West Side Story.
“It was the experience of so many people in my family: the idea that you will get a job, you will be American, and that’s how you survive — that’s the only way you’re guaranteed a future.”
During the Snow White press tour, Zegler received criticism for sharing posts supporting Palestine on social media. Although she continues to stand by her decision to speak out, she now views the situation as “a complete study in intent versus impact.”
Zegler said, “You live and you learn, and there’s a caution that comes with that.” She added, “There’s an understanding that the temptation to speak doesn’t always mean that it must be done, and that there are a lot of opportunities to make more meaningful change than a tweet.”
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