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‘Snow White’ Producer’s Son Says Rachel Zegler’s ‘Free Palestine’ Post Contributed to Film’s Poor Box Office Showing
Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot present the award for Best Visual Effects during the Oscars show at the 97th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, March 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
The son of “Snow White” producer Marc Platt scolded the film’s lead star Rachel Zegler on social media, claiming that her decision to tweet “Free Palestine” contributed to the Disney film’s poor performance at the box office during its opening weekend.
Jonah Platt – a Jewish actor, activist, and podcast host – is also the brother of actor Ben Platt. Jonah made comments criticizing the Golden Globe-winning actress, 23, last week in a since-deleted comment on an Instagram post for his podcast “Being Jewish.” He was replying to an Instagram user who asked Jonah in the comments about a Variety report that claimed Marc “flew to New York to speak directly with” Zegler following backlash over her “Free Palestine” post on X.
“You really want to do this? 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 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 in the comment, as seen in screenshots shared online.
He added that “this is called adult responsibility and accountability,” and claimed that Zegler’s “actions clearly hurt the film’s box office.”
Zegler uploaded the “Free Palestine” post in August 2024, three days after the trailer for “Snow White” debuted. The comment, which remains on her page, was criticized by not only pro-Israel supporters but also fans of Zegler’s “Snow White” costar, Israeli actress Gal Gadot, 39. Gadot is a former soldier in the Israel Defense Forces, a vocal supporter of her home country, and the eighth generation to be born in Israel on her father’s side.
The new “Snow White” is Disney’s live-action remake of 1937’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” the company’s first animated feature film. Released on March 21, “Snow White” stars Zegler as the title character and Gadot as the Evil Queen. The Marc Webb-directed film made $43 million in ticket sales during its opening weekend, which is well below the film’s budget of more than $250 million, according to the Associated Press. Through this past Sunday, the film has made $66.8 million domestically and $143.1 million globally. “Snow White” is reportedly one of the worst-performing live-action Disney remakes and the film has garnered one of the lowest user ratings on the website IMDb.
In his Instagram comment, Platt continued to lambast Zegler, saying “Free speech does not mean you’re allowed to say whatever you want in your private employment without repercussions.” He claimed that “tens of thousands of people” worked on the “Snow White” film, and he believes Zegler “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.”
Controversy surrounding Zegler and Gadot’s relationship has followed “Snow White” ever since Zegler’s “Free Palestine” post last year. The costars have been on completely separate press tours for the film – doing talk show appearances and other interviews alone, instead of together – and Zegler did not attend Gadot’s recent Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony. The director and producer of “Snow White” both attended the ceremony.
Zegler and Gadot presented together at the Academy Awards on March 2, but according to Variety, Zegler afterwards called Gadot “a professional pageant queen” in an Instagram reply. Sources said that the remark is “considered a dismissive way to describe a fellow actress.”
The “Snow White” premiere in Los Angeles on March 15 was scaled back and media outlets were not allowed to attend the red carpet to interview the costars. Disney instead opted for photographers and a house crew in order to avoid having Zegler and Gadot answer questions on the spot. Meanwhile, the film’s premiere in the United Kingdom was canceled.
The post ‘Snow White’ Producer’s Son Says Rachel Zegler’s ‘Free Palestine’ Post Contributed to Film’s Poor Box Office Showing first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Readies for a Nationwide Strike on Sunday
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
i24 News – The families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza are calling on for a general strike to be held on Sunday in an effort to compel the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a deal with Hamas for the release of their loved ones and a ceasefire. According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, of whom 20 are believed to be alive.
The October 7 Council and other groups representing bereaved families of hostages and soldiers who fell since the start of the war declared they were “shutting down the country to save the soldiers and the hostages.”
While many businesses said they would join the strike, Israel’s largest labor federation, the Histadrut, has declined to participate.
Some of the country’s top educational institutions, including the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University, declared their support for the strike.
“We, the members of the university’s leadership, deans, and department heads, hereby announce that on Sunday, each and every one of us will participate in a personal strike as a profound expression of solidarity with the hostage families,” the Hebrew University’s deal wrote to students.
The day will begin at 6:29 AM, to commemorate the start of the October 7 attack, with the first installation at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square in Tel Aviv. Further demonstrations are planned at dozens of traffic intersections.
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Netanyahu ‘Has Become a Problem,’Says Danish PM as She Calls for Russia-Style Sanctions Against Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the press on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
i24 News – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has become a “problem,” his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen said Saturday, adding she would try to put pressure on Israel over the Gaza war.
“Netanyahu is now a problem in himself,” Frederiksen told Danish media, adding that the Israeli government is going “too far” and lashing out at the “absolutely appalling and catastrophic” humanitarian situation in Gaza and announced new homes in the West Bank.
“We are one of the countries that wants to increase pressure on Israel, but we have not yet obtained the support of EU members,” she said, specifying she referred to “political pressure, sanctions, whether against settlers, ministers, or even Israel as a whole.”
“We are not ruling anything out in advance. Just as with Russia, we are designing the sanctions to target where we believe they will have the greatest effect.”
The devastating war in Gaza began almost two years ago, with an incursion into Israel of thousands of Palestinian armed jihadists, who perpetrated the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
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As Alaska Summit Ends With No Apparent Progress, Zelensky to Meet Trump on Monday
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at the press conference after the opening session of Crimea Platform conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, 23 August 2023. The Crimea Platform – is an international consultation and coordination format initiated by Ukraine. OLEG PETRASYUK/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – After US President Donald Trump hailed the “great progress” made during a meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he was set to meet Trump on Monday at the White House.
“There were many, many points that we agreed on, most of them, I would say, a couple of big ones that we haven’t quite gotten there, but we’ve made some headway,” Trump told reporters during a joint press conference after the meeting.
Many observers noted, however, that the subsequent press conference was a relatively muted affair compared to the pomp and circumstance of the red carpet welcome, and the summit produced no tangible progress.
Trump and Putin spoke briefly, with neither taking questions, and offered general statements about an “understanding” and “progress.”
Putin, who spoke first, agreed with Trump’s long-repeated assertion that Russia never would have invaded Ukraine in 2022 had Trump been president instead of Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump said “many points were agreed to” and that “just a very few” issues were left to resolve, offering no specifics and making no reference to the ceasefire he’s been seeking.