Snow White Faces New Poisoned Controversy: Ban Sparks Debate, Unrelated to Rachel Zegler

Snow White stands out as the most delicate among all Disney princesses, being both the inaugural and quintessential princess character. Given its enduring appeal, Disney has recently unveiled a live-action adaptation of this classic tale.
Snow White
, marred by scandal.

Aside from the
Critique regarding Rachel Zegler\’s casting
The movie faced continuous setbacks. With production delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, SAG-AFTRA strikes, and even a fire on set, the project ended up with an enormous budget that it failed to recoup. Adding insult to injury, the film now finds itself embroiled in yet another controversy, further extending its troubled history.

Lebanon has banned Disney\’s
Snow White
from theaters due to Israeli actress Gal Gadot

, per
Deadline
.

Snow White
select two prominent actresses with opposing political views. Despite the fact that they were cast prior to the escalation of the Israel-Gaza conflict, the situation surrounding the war had an impact on the film as well. Rachel Zegler has not shied away from expressing her strong backing for Palestine, which
Disney allegedly attempted to revamp
As the reason for the film\’s failure, while Gal Gadot is an Israeli-born, former IDF soldier.

Now

Ahmad Hajjar, Lebanon’s Interior Minister, recommended the film\’s ban from theaters

According to the local newspaper An-Nahar, Zegler portrays the lead character, Princess Snow White, whereas Gadot takes on the role of the Evil Queen. This follows a pattern seen in Lebanon.

previously banned Gadot\’s
Wonder Woman
and
Death on the Nile
.

Gadot has been backing Israel since the start of the conflict on October 7, 2023.

During a passionate address at the Anti-Defamation League’s conference in 2024, she stated: \”I never thought that on the streets of the United States and various cities across the globe, we would witness individuals failing to denounce Hamas,\”

commemorating, rationalizing, and applauding a mass killing of Jewish people

.\”

Snow White
has faced a boycott from BDS

A peaceful, Palestinian-driven initiative along with PACBI (the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel) criticized the preview released in 2024 because of Gadot’s support for Israel.

Apparently, the actress got death threats due to her position, prompting Disney to offer enhanced protection measures for her safety.

Other groups from

Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Tunisia, the UAE, and Egypt also called for a regional boycott

due to Gadot\’s participation in the film.

Most recently, in February 2025, Gadot commented on the Israel-Gaza conflict during an interview with
Harper\’s Bazaar Spain
She emphasized her opposition to war and advocated for a diplomatic solution. \’I realize it might sound trite, but similar to how we\’re being taught to hate through rising antisemitism,\’

We have the ability to instill in them a sense of love as well. I choose to believe that love is the driving force behind the world\’s movements. Warfare represents a loss for all parties involved.

Hatred is terrible. It poisons both society and the person who hates.\”

Snow White Is Expected to Fail at the Box Office

Given its enormous $270 million budget, which accounts for all the delays as well as the usual production expenses,

Snow White
Would have required more than $550 million to break even.

However, the movie is nowhere near covering its investment, let alone making a profit. Since its release in theaters,

Snow White
has only earned $182.6 million globally.

This will result in several hundred million dollars in losses for Disney.

Snow White
suffered from negative feedback and was inundated with low ratings. Experts awarded the movie a \”rotten\” rating of 40%. Meanwhile, viewers expressed their dissatisfaction by leaving one-star reviews. Nevertheless, on Rotten Tomatoes,
The film boasts an exhilarating 72% audience rating.
Based on the Popcorn meter derived from authenticated ratings, this presents an entirely distinct narrative compared to the 1.6 rating bomb on IMDb.

Snow White
is now showing at movie theaters.

Source:
Deadline
,
Harper\’s Bazaar Spain