Rachel Zegler faced intense backlash when she stepped out on an interview to talk about her upcoming film "Snow White." On the other hand, Halle Bailey faced racist remarks from the general public when she was cast as "The Little Mermaid."
Now, the two young actresses have come together on Variety's "Actors on Actors" and talked about their experiences in handling intense backlash.
Halle Bailey Talks About Suffering Intense Backlash From "The Little Mermaid"
Halle Bailey received rave reviews from critics and the general public for her outstanding performance as Ariel in "The Little Mermaid." (via Variety)
However, when the casting was announced, Bailey faced a mountain of racist backlash for being a black actress playing an animated White mermaid.
Zegler praised Bailey for handling the criticism with grace.
"You proved them wrong with grace. I was so inspired by the way you handled anybody who had anything bad to say about it. Did you ever let it affect you at all? You definitely didn't publicly," she asked her.
Bailey affirmed the praise, saying that of course, she was somewhat affected by it.
"I mean, we're sensitive. We're human beings. I get my feelings hurt if my cat doesn't want to sit next to me," she explained.
Bailey then elaborated more, pointing out that the public has forgotten that people have forgotten that they're human too apart from being movie stars.
"We're granted amazing opportunities and able to be seen on massive screens, but there is a dissociation. People start taking you away from being a real human being that has feelings and reacts to things. That was definitely something that I had to navigate. But it turned out to be the most beautiful lesson - to block any naysayers or negativity out," she said.
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Rachel Zegler Was Canceled For Speaking Against 'Snow White'
The internet stormed against Rachel Zegler when she was asked by an interviewer what she thought of the difference between the new "Snow White" adaptation to the old one. Zegler noted that they made the new film more empowering for women as compared to the old animated film.
Speaking about experiencing backlash, Zegler had this to say:
"Choosing thankfulness and gratefulness is choosing peace. As much as you'd like to remind people verbally that being in the spotlight doesn't absolve you of your humanity - that you're allowed to have human moments - it doesn't necessarily do what you want it to do. It fuels them more."
Watch the full conversation of Rachel Zegler and Halle Bailey on Variety's "Actors on Actors" below.
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