Rachel Zegler refuses to participate in the conversation about her role as Snow White in the upcoming live-action remake of the animated classic Snow White. “I am extremely grateful for the love I feel from those who defend me online, but please do not tag me in the nonsense speech about my casting.” Zegler tweeted. “I really, really don’t want to see it.”
Rachel Zegler has a Polish-American father and a Colombian mother.
Rachel Zegler was born on May 3, 2001 to a Polish-American father and a Colombian mother. Her grandmother immigrated to the United States from Colombia in the 1960s.
rachelzegler/Twitter
Zegler said Variety she feels more connected to her Colombian culture than to her American heritage: “You know, yes, my dad is white, he’s American. His family has been in this country for many, many, many years. And the same cannot be said for my other side of the family. I am more immersed in my Colombian culture than ever in my American culture, so why can anyone else tell me who I am?
The internet has relentlessly debated Zegler’s ethnicity ever since she announced her role as Maria in the Steven Spielberg film. West Side Story. “As a Colombian-American woman growing up in these times, strong roles like Maria’s are very important. Being able to bring that role to life, a role that means so much to the Hispanic community, is humbling,” Zegler wrote on Instagram on January 15, 2019.
Out of 30,000 auditions, the film’s casting directors chose Rachel Zegler, a testament to her preternatural acting and singing talents. However, some commentators found fault with her casting and said that she was not dark enough for the role. Steven Spielberg stated that Latino and Latina actors would play the lead roles in the film, unlike the original production, in which white actors like Natalie Wood played Latino characters.
Thus, Spielberg’s commitment to authenticity and Zegler’s casting should have met with universal approval. However, some netizens opined that Zegler was too white to play Maria. Zegler had a different perspective, saying the film would show people that “there are so many different ways to be Latinx.” She said TIME:
“Authenticity is very important when it comes to West Side Story, and authenticity in Latino identity comes in many different shapes, sizes and colors. We have so many people from so many different walks of life in this film that are being represented whether they were born and raised in Puerto Rico, Cuba, whether their parents were born here, like me.”
Zegler admitted that she is treated better than black and indigenous Latino actors
Zegler admitted Variety that black and indigenous Latino actors face more discrimination than she, a white Latina. The actor explained: “I am a white Latina, I am very privileged, and if that is the conversation that people want to have about my privilege in this industry, then I am absolutely welcome to have that conversation. Like I said, I’m a white Latina. They don’t stop me on the street because of my appearance.”
That’s not to say she hasn’t faced discrimination for being Latina, in real life and online. She told the outlet that racists had spit on her on the subway for speaking Spanish and told her to go back the way she came. “These are the same people who hide behind a Twitter profile and tell me that because my dad is American or because my mom wasn’t born in Colombia or because I wasn’t born in Colombia my identity is invalid,” she said.
The Zegler Launch West Side Story it caused quite a stir because some people thought it was too white for the role. The casting of her as Snow White has caused a furore because she’s supposedly not white enough to play the character. No wonder she is tired of talking about her ethnicity. Snow White was originally described as having “skin as white as snow”, a quality that skeptics say Zegler lacks. Zegler tweeted that she won’t be bleaching her skin for the role.
Photos of snow WhiteThe diverse cast drew criticism from conservative factions, who criticized Disney for having woken up. “Meet the cast of the new Disney movie Snow White Awakening. Snow White is now Colombian and the 7 dwarfs look more like the 6 normal sized hipster farts and 1 Portland dwarf. Snow White no longer has ‘snow white skin’. Absolutely ridiculous,” Robby Starbuck tweeted.
Zegler may have grown tired of the incessant criticism about her ethnicity, but she won’t stop fighting for Latinx inclusion in inclusion. “And like I said, I’m a white Latina in an industry that’s not necessarily nice to Latinas, but definitely nicer to white Latinas than anything else, so it’s my job to make sure those doors are open for other Latinos who aren’t necessarily, you know, they don’t fix the box,” she said. Variety.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn