Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot turned the red carpet into a fairytale runway at Snow White’s Los Angeles premiere.
The two costars attended the event held at El Capitan Theatre on Saturday, March 15, for the film directed by Marc Webb. Zegler, 23, stars as the titular Snow White, and Gadot, 39, portrays the Evil Queen.
In celebration of the movie musical’s release, the actresses wore looks that channeled their iconic characters.
Zegler was pretty in pink in a pale rose-colored strapless gown featuring a corseted bodice decorated with butterfly appliqués and a voluminous, floor-length skirt. She styled her hair in an elegant updo and accessorized with diamond necklace.
Gadot, meanwhile, opted for a sheer black lace dress detailed with a ruffled miniskirt overtop a longer floor-length skirt. She wore her hair down in a sleek, middle-part style and topped off her look with a jeweled statement necklace with a tassel.
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The L.A. premiere follows in the footsteps of the Europe premiere, which saw Zegler perform “Waiting on a Wish,” one of the film’s original songs, for fans at a castle in Segovia, Spain. The string of low-key promo events ahead of the film’s release is a result of efforts to steer away from the backlash associated with Snow White that has followed since it was announced in September 2022.
Zegler in particular has garnered criticism for both her casting and her viewpoints on the original 1937 film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
When she was announced as Snow White, Zegler dealt with racist backlash over her stepping into the shoes of the Disney Princess while being of Latinx background (Zegler is of Colombian and Polish descent.)
She later said in a 2024 interview with Variety that Snow White’s name has a different origin story in the new film than the original animated Disney movie, which, along with the 19th century Grimms fairy tale, describes the character as having “skin as white as snow.” The 2025 interpretation instead points to the character having survived a snowstorm as a baby and her name being a nod to her “resilience.”
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The actress has also been outspoken about her critique of the animation, including her thoughts on its “dated” narrative.
In a recent interview with Vogue Mexico, the actress addressed the flak, saying, “I interpret people’s feelings about this film as their passion for [the Snow White character] and what an honor to be a part of something that people are so passionate about.”
Outside of the cast, Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage has called out the “hypocrisy” of the movie, citing the fairy tale’s “backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together.”
“Literally no offense to anyone, but I was a little taken aback — they were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White,” he said. “But you’re still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there. It makes no sense to me.”
Disney addressed Dinklage’s criticisms in a statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter. A spokesperson told the outlet, “To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community.”
David Hand, 93 and the son of one of the co-directors of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, has also spoken out about the lack of “respect” shown in the remake. “It’s a whole different concept, and I just totally disagree with it,” he told The Telegraph, per Entertainment Weekly.
Snow White is in theaters March 21.
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