Rachel Zegler, the star of Disney’s disastrous live-action Snow White remake is once again making headlines for political activism, this time taking aim at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
According to Breitbart, Zegler appeared in an Instagram Story wearing a shirt emblazoned with the message “GET ICE OUT OF NEW YORK CITY.”
It marks a familiar return to political commentary for an actress whose outspoken activism became inseparable from the controversy surrounding one of Disney’s most notorious theatrical disappointments.
Rachel Zegler in an anti-ICE shirt – Instagram, @racehelzegler
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And if Disney hoped the end of the Snow White promotional campaign might bring an end to the headlines surrounding Zegler’s politics, that respite appears to be over.
Rachel Zegler is Back
Zegler’s shirt was reportedly produced by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, an organization that has campaigned against ICE and immigration enforcement policies.
There is nothing particularly unusual about a Hollywood celebrity taking a left-wing political position. What makes Zegler’s latest statement noteworthy is everything that happened the last time the actress mixed politics, social media, and Hollywood.
Disney learned that lesson the hard way.
The company’s Snow White remake was already facing significant resistance well before its March 2025 release. Zegler had famously criticized elements of Disney’s 1937 animated classic, describing the original love story as “weird” and saying the prince “literally stalks” Snow White.
The remake subsequently became engulfed in arguments over Disney’s changes to the story, its approach to the Seven Dwarfs, Zegler’s casting, and the actress’s own public statements.
But the situation escalated dramatically once Zegler’s political activism became intertwined with Disney’s marketing campaign.
Disney Reportedly Tried to Rein Her In
The extraordinary extent of Disney’s concern was revealed after Snow White reached theaters.
In August 2024, Zegler celebrated the release of the movie’s trailer on X before following the promotional message with another post declaring, “and always remember, free Palestine.”
According to Variety’s extensive postmortem on the Snow White debacle, Disney executives were shocked that Zegler had attached a political message to promotion of the studio’s enormously expensive tentpole.
Producer Marc Platt reportedly flew to New York to speak directly with Zegler about the situation.
Then came the 2024 presidential election.
A screenshot of Rachel Zegler’s Incendiary tweets about Donald Trump and his supporters – Photo Credit Steph Anie, @MyNerdyHome Via X
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Following President Trump’s victory, Zegler unloaded on Trump and his supporters through Instagram Stories, writing “F*** Donald Trump” and declaring, “May Trump supporters and Trump voters and Trump himself never know peace.”
Zegler subsequently apologized, saying she had allowed her emotions to get the better of her. But Disney apparently wasn’t willing to take another chance.
Variety reported that following additional discussions between Platt and Zegler, Disney paid for a social media specialist to work with the actress and vet her posts ahead of Snow White’s theatrical release.
That means Disney was reportedly spending money not merely to market its $270 million movie, but to manage what its leading actress was saying on social media before audiences could buy tickets.
Snow White Became a Box Office Disaster
All of those efforts ultimately failed to save the movie.
Snow White opened to just $42.2 million domestically and eventually finished with approximately $205 million worldwide against its enormous production budget.
Whatever percentage of the movie’s failure can be attributed specifically to Zegler remains debatable. Snow White had plenty of problems beyond its star, ranging from its enormous budget to negative reactions toward Disney’s creative choices and broader audience fatigue with the company’s live-action remakes.
Rachel Zegler as Snow White in Snow White (2025), Walt Disney Studios
But Zegler unquestionably became the face of the controversy.
Even Marc Platt’s son, Jonah Platt, publicly blamed Zegler’s political commentary for damaging the movie.
As TheWrap reported at the time, Jonah Platt accused Zegler of “hijacking” the movie’s conversation with her political posts and argued that her behavior “clearly hurt the film’s box office.”
It was an extraordinary end to an extraordinarily troubled Disney production.
Now, with Snow White safely behind her, Zegler appears ready to wade directly back into political activism.
But There’s a Met Gala Problem
There’s also an interesting wrinkle to Zegler’s latest anti-ICE statement.
Just a few months ago, Zegler attended the 2026 Met Gala in New York City.
The event’s lead sponsors included Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos, who reportedly contributed $10 million to the gala. Bezos’s involvement became a major source of controversy before the event, with activists specifically targeting Amazon’s relationship with ICE.
The Washington Post reported that activists organized a campaign against the event citing, among other complaints, Amazon’s partnership with ICE.
Protesters also took to the streets of New York ahead of the gala. The Guardian reported that Amazon workers, unions, and supporters participated in an alternative fashion event protesting Bezos and Amazon.
Rachel Zegler at the 2026 Met Gala – YouTube, Vogue
Zegler attended the Met Gala anyway.
That fact is now being brought up by critics questioning the actress’s latest political statement. Fashion Times reported that some social media users accused Zegler’s anti-ICE messaging of being “performative,” specifically pointing toward her willingness to attend the Bezos-backed event.
That doesn’t prevent Zegler from opposing ICE, nor does attending the Met Gala necessarily mean she endorses every business relationship involving its sponsors.
Rachel Zegler at the 2026 Met Gala – Access Hollywood, YouTube
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But it does expose Zegler to an obvious question about consistency.
If Amazon’s relationship with ICE wasn’t enough to keep Zegler away from one of Hollywood’s most prestigious celebrity events, critics are understandably going to wonder how deep the commitment behind the T-shirt really runs.
The Old Rachel Zegler Has Returned
Perhaps the most interesting part of all of this is how quickly Zegler has returned to the type of political messaging that created such a headache for Disney.
During the Snow White debacle, the studio reportedly went to extraordinary lengths to keep its star’s social media activity from creating yet another controversy surrounding the film.
There was a producer reportedly flying across the country to speak with her. There were conversations about her posts. Eventually, according to Variety, there was even a Disney-funded social media adviser vetting what she posted.
But Snow White is over.
Rachel Zegler singing in the Snow White Trailer – YouTube, Disney
The movie has come and gone. The disastrous box office run is finished. Disney no longer has hundreds of millions of dollars riding on Zegler convincing as many Americans as possible to buy a ticket.
And suddenly the political T-shirts are back.
Rachel Zegler has every right to make political statements and advocate for whatever causes she chooses.
But after watching her activism become part of the toxic conversation surrounding Snow White, Disney executives may simply be grateful that this time, she isn’t promoting one of their movies while doing it.
How do you feel about Rachel Zegler diving back into activism? Sound off and let us know!
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