Former Hercules star Kevin Sorbo's mockery of Disney's newest live-action remake Snow White backfired when social media users swiftly reminded the actor of his has-been Hollywood status.
Snow White was already riddled with controversy before it premiered in theaters.
In August 2024, the teaser trailer for the remake became the most disliked teaser for a trailer on YouTube.
The casting of Latina actor Rachel Zegler as the titular princess drew scrutiny from critics. They argued that the character in Disney's 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and the original German fairy tale on which it was based, had "skin as white as snow."
She responded to the backlash about her new Snow White being "PC," explaining that the modern take would give the character "a function beyond 'Someday My Prince Will Come.'"
She also condemned the first Disney animated film for its outdated representation of social norms about women.
“The original cartoon came out in 1937 and very evidently so,” Zegler said in 2023, adding:
“There is a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her–weird, weird! So we didn't do that this time."
In January 2022, actor Peter Dinklage, who has a form of dwarfism and played dwarfish characters in films, slammed the upcoming remake, calling it a "backward story."
His criticism prompted Disney to reimagine the depiction of the dwarves to CG animation instead of casting live actors from the dwarfism community, inciting additional backlash with the media accusing Disney of being "woke."
More controversy plagued the film ahead of its release when Zegler and co-star Gal Gadot, who plays the evil queen, were vocal about their conflicting political views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with Gadot supporting her native Israel and Zegler being sympathetic towards Palestine.
The film premiered on March 21 and was panned by critics with a 43% score on Rotten Tomatoes. As of March 23, 2025, Snow White has grossed $42.2 million in the United States and Canada.
Snow White had an estimated budget of $240 to 270 million and is one of the most expensive films ever made, and Disney's fifteenth most expensive to date.
Following the release of the film, Sorbo shared a GIF of a celebratory musical number from Snow White and wrote in the caption:
"The left can’t make movies."
Sorbo is no stranger to controversy himself.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was banned from Facebook for "sharing debunked claims about the coronavirus or vaccines." Sorbo was also criticized on social media for making repeated remarks supporting Donald Trump's false claims of a stolen election after losing in 2020.
Regarding his swipe at Disney's latest box office bomb, many thought Sorbo was one to talk, given the fact that the role he was most known for was Hercules in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys was in the late 1990s.
The actor later pivoted to making Christian films in the late 2010s, including God's Not Dead and Let There Be Light, a career move that failed to make much of an impression.
Social media was quick to point out Sorbo's hypocrisy.
Murdered By Words/Reddit
Murdered By Words/Reddit
He continued being slammed for his comment about "the left."
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Thanks for playing, Kevin.
Not all of the reviews for Snow White were scathing.
Katcy Stephan of Variety hailed Zegler as a "shining supernova" and said her character showed a "newfound depth through her fervent desire to become the leader her father believed she could be."
IGN's Siddhant Adlakha called the musical remake "the best Disney live-action remake in a decade," adding that it "adapts the broad strokes of the original, while fleshing out its themes."
An audience reviewer on Rotten Tomatoes argued the criticism from those who haven't seen the film "doesn't hold up" and found the film to be "a thoughtful and respectful reimagining of the original animation. It’s clearly made for a new generation of children, but it hasn’t forgotten those of us who grew up with the classic."
Another referred to the the controversies associated with the movie ahead of its release, saying "I think we as a society can learn a lot from this entire experience, but all the keyboard trolls, fake Youtube reviews who think their Roger Ebert and empty vessel political heads never think they’re wrong," adding they couldn't recommend this reimaging take on a Disney classic more.
"Any Disney lovers will adore it," they said, referring to the very demographic the movie was catering to in the hopes of inspiring new generations of fans.
Snow White is now playing in theaters.
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