Can we all leave Rachel Zegler alone already?

Rachel Zegler has had endless abuse since she took on the role of Snow White and it’s time for it to stop.

There’s always trouble when a person of color gets cast as a character who’s traditionally white. Zegler is the most recent person to be dogpiled by racists for simply accepting a role. “But white is part of the character’s name,” people keep insisting, as if that means anything in the world of Disney princesses. Snow White is a Latina right now (there are bound to be countless new adaptions of the story later where she is white) and MAGAs just can’t handle it.

You can add to all that the fact that Zegler is openly anti-Trump. After the convicted felon was elected President of the United States for the second time, Zegler took to Instagram and wrote a rightfully angry, now deleted, post. “There is a deep sickness in this country that is shown in the sheer amount of people who showed up for this man who threatens our democracy,” she said. “May Trump supporters and Trump voters and Trump himself never know peace.” According to some members of MAGA, the right of freedom of speech does not apply to Zegler; she was instantly slammed and insulted for the comments. Megyn Kelly called her “a pig” and called for her to be fired.

But what she said shouldn’t be controversial. Zegler has the right to slam Trump if she wants to. Think about how many people have Hollywood careers despite being openly MAGA—Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone, Dennis Quaid. Why isn’t Zegler allowed to have the opposite opinion without worrying about her career?

Now another slam has come her way. Disney are “scaling back” their premiere of Snow White because of the controversy surrounding the movie. Variety reports that Zegler isn’t the only issue, so is Gal Gadot, who plays the evil queen. Gadot has been outspoken in her support of Israel during the Israel-Gaza war.

Let’s unpack that. Gadot has publicly supported the aggressors in a war that has killed thousands of people, including countless children, while Zegler has… existed as a Latina person and expressed an opinion about Trump, a racist and despicable man. Apparently, according to Disney, these are equally serious things. It’s ridiculous. Zegler is pro-Palestine, and she’s been attacked for that, too.

Zegler is subject to racism and misogyny and I’m so sick of it

The abuse against Zegler didn’t begin at her anti-Trump or pro-Palestine comments, it began when she pointed out how badly the original Snow White had aged. Three years ago Zegler offered up some mild criticism of the original movie, saying “[it] came out in 1937, and very evidently so,” before calling the romance “weird” and saying that the Prince “literally stalks” Snow White.

In the grand scheme of things, an actress criticizing a Disney movie is not a big deal, but you’d have thought Zegler had kicked a hundred puppies the way people went on about it. Racism, sexism, and death threats all came Zegler’s way, and I can’t even imagine the inner strength she must have needed to get through all that.

“I’ve mostly seen the bad of [social media],” Zegler said in an October interview with Teen Vogue. “I’ve been doxxed. I’ve had people outside my apartment, I’ve had people protesting my existence and the color of my skin. I don’t f*ck with it anymore. I really don’t.”

Zegler has just been treated so poorly in the runup to Snow White. Disney have done nothing whatsoever to help her—instead, they’ve scaled back the premiere as if she’s done something wrong. I can only hope that in a few years, once Snow White has been and gone, people come to realize how appallingly she’s been treated.