The son of Snow White producer Marc Platt says Rachel Zegler’s “personal politics” are to blame for the Disney movie’s underperformance with critics and audiences.
Actor Jonah Platt – whose credits include Uncoupled and Being The Ricardos – took aim at Rachel in a now-deleted Instagram post on Wednesday, in which he accused her of exhibiting “narcissism” in the lead-up to the release of Snow White last week.
His remarks were made in response to an Instagram user’s allusion to a meeting his father reportedly held with Rachel over her public support of Palestine in the Israel-Hamas war.
In their post, the Instagram user called Mark Platt’s actions “creepy as hell and uncalled for”, and demanded an explanation.
“Yeah, my dad, the producer of enormous piece of Disney IP with hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, had to leave his family to to fly across the country to reprimand his 20 year old employee for dragging her personal politics into the middle of promoting the movie for which she signed a multi-million dollar contract to get paid and do publicity for,” Jonah wrote.
“This is called adult responsibility and accountability. And her actions clearly hurt the film’s box office.”
“Free speech does not meant you’re allowed to say whatever you want in your private employment without repercussions,” he continued.
“Tens of thousands of people worked on that film and she hijacked the conversation for her own immature desires at the risk of all the colleagues and crew and blue collar workers who depend on that movie to be successful. Narcissism is not something to be coddled or encouraged.”
In addition to his stage and screen work, Jonah ― who is also the older brother of Dear Evan Hansen actor and singer Ben Platt ― frequently calls out antisemitism as the host of the Being Jewish podcast.
A representative for Jonah Platt declined comment when contacted by HuffPost. Representatives for Disney also did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s email seeking comment.
News of Rachel’s supposed meeting with Marc Platt also caught the eye of actor Melissa Barrera, who in 2023 was fired from the Scream franchise for her own vocal support for Palestine.
On Wednesday, Melissa shared a post on her Instagram stories which read: “Disney is scapegoating Rachel Zegler for the failure of Snow White because she spoke up for Palestinians. She deserves better.”
Snow White is a live-action remake of the 1937 animated classic Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, a film which helped establish Disney as a Hollywood powerhouse.
The reimagined movie, which also stars Gal Gadot, cost a reported $270 million to make, but opened below expectations to a paltry $43 million at the U.S. box office.
Disney first announced plans for a live-action Snow White in 2016, though production on the film was significantly delayed by Covid-19.
The film’s rollout was marked by a string of controversies, beginning with racist commentary over the casting of Rachel, who is Colombian American, in the titular role.