Snow White is easily the softest Disney Princess, who is the first and original Princess. Considering its popularity, Disney recently released a live-action remake of
Snow White
, marred by scandal.
Aside from the
critique regarding Rachel Zegler’s casting
The movie seemed plagued with misfortune. Given that production faced setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SAG-AFTRA strikes, and even a fire at the set, this resulted in an enormous budget exceeding what the film could recoup. To make matters worse, it now faces yet another controversy to add to its growing list of issues.
Lebanon has banned Disney’s
Snow White
from theaters because of Israeli actress Gal Gadot
, per
Deadline
.
Snow White
feature two prominent actresses with opposing political views. Despite the fact that the casting took place prior to the escalation of the Israel-Gaza conflict, the situation had an impact on the film as well. Rachel Zegler has openly expressed her backing for Palestine, which
Disney supposedly attempted to revamp
As the cause of 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 of 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 anticipated that on the streets of the United States and various cities across the globe, we would witness individuals failing to denounce Hamas,”
celebrating, justifying and cheering on a massacre of Jews
.”
Snow White
has been the target of a boycott from BDS
A peaceful, Palestinian-initiated campaign along with PACBI (the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel) decided to take action after the release of the preview trailer 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 for her.
Other groups from
Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Tunisia, the UAE, and Egypt additionally urged for a collective embargo.
due to Gadot’s participation in the film.
Most recently, in February 2025, Gadot spoke about the Israel-Gaza conflict during an interview with
Harper’s Bazaar Spain
. She highlighted her anti-war stance and called for a diplomatic resolution. “I know it sounds cliché, but just as they are teaching us to hate, by increasing antisemitism,
We have the ability to instill in them a sense of love as well. I choose to think that love is the power driving our planet. Warfare represents a loss for all parties involved.
Hatred is terrible. It poisons both society and the person who hates.
Snow White Will Flop in Theaters
With a massive $270 million budget due to all the delays, on top of the regular production costs,
Snow White
would’ve needed over $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 earned just $182.6 million globally.
This will result in several hundred million dollars of loss for Disney.
Snow White
also faced issues with negative feedback and review bombing. The critics awarded the movie a “rotten” rating of 40%, while viewers largely provided one-star reviews. Nevertheless, on Rotten Tomatoes,
The film boasts an exhilarating 72% audience rating.
Based on the Popcornmeter derived from verified ratings, this presents an entirely different narrative compared to the 1.6 rating bomb on IMDb.
Snow White
is now showing at movie theaters.
Source:
Deadline
,
Harper’s Bazaar Spain
