Lebanon has barred Disney’s Snow White remake from cinemas, the decision wasn’t driven by the film’s content or quality but by the casting of Gal Gadot, an Israeli actress blacklisted by Lebanese authorities.
Despite Snow White hitting cinemas in the United States on 21 March, Lebanese audiences won’t be seeing it anytime soon.
The ban was reportedly proposed by Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar, and aligns with Lebanon’s longstanding policy of boycotting Israeli-linked individuals and productions. Gal Gadot, who plays the Evil Queen in Snow White, is at the centre of the storm.
Snow White, though a classic fairy tale about a princess cast into exile by a jealous stepmother, has found itself at the heart of a political controversy in Lebanon.
The film has already underperformed at the box office and faced critical disappointment—but now it’s being used as a symbol in a much larger geopolitical conversation.
This isn’t the first time Gal Gadot has been at the centre of such bans. Lebanon also blocked the release of Wonder Woman and Death on the Nile, both of which starred Gal Gadot.
Her service in the Israeli military and her vocal support of Israel over their atrocities over Gaza especially since October 7 have made her a divisive figure in many parts of the world.
While Snow White has always been associated with magic, fairy tales, and childhood nostalgia, this latest version is proving to be far more political.
In Lebanon, the name Snow White now stands as a reminder of the country’s hard line on cultural content tied to Israel.
Read More: Rachel Zegler responds to ‘Snow White’ casting backlash
Earlier, Hollywood starlet Rachel Zegler, of Disney’s live-action adaptation of ‘Snow White’, responded to the backlash towards her casting in the titular role.
Disney’s mega-budgeted movie adaptation of the fairy tale ‘Snow White’, directed by Marc Webb and starring Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, along with Andrew Burnap, set off at a dismal Box Office opening last week, a part of which had to do with the several controversies that the film was surrounded with before the release.
One of the major controversies that plagued the film’s release was the casting choice, including the CGI characterization of the seven dwarfs and the colour-blind casting of Zegler, a Latina, despite the original character of the fairy tale described as someone having skin ‘as white as snow’.
Reflecting on the backlash from the audience, Zegler believed that it was people’s ‘passion’ for the original character, which drew negative sentiments towards her casting.
Speaking to a foreign publication, she said, “I interpret people’s feelings about this film as their passion for her, and what an honour to be a part of something for which people feel so much passion.”
“We’re not always going to have the same sentiments as those around us and all that we can do is give the best of ourselves,” she maintained.
Notably, made on a massive $270 million budget, ‘Snow White’ started off rather slow at the Box office last week. The title has to gross a minimum of $600 million at the ticket counters to be considered profitable.
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