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From Disney to Discord: Rachel Zegler and Ms. Rachel Crowned Glamour’s ‘Women of the Year’ Despite Anti-Israel Firestorms

By: Ariella Haviv

Glamour magazine’s latest “Women of the Year” announcement has ignited a political and cultural firestorm, after two of its honorees — actress Rachel Zegler and children’s YouTube star Rachel Griffin Accurso, better known as Ms. Rachel — were revealed to have histories of controversial remarks regarding the Israel–Hamas war, as was reported on Monday in The New York Post.

The magazine’s annual awards, long celebrated for spotlighting women of influence in entertainment, activism, and public life, are now facing intense scrutiny for honoring figures whose public statements have divided audiences and alienated swaths of the Jewish community. The two Rachels join a lineup that includes actress Demi Moore and South African singer Tyla, but the decision to include Zegler and Accurso has overshadowed much of the praise, as both have been at the center of public relations disasters linked to their political commentary.

According to the information provided in The New York Post report, both women’s inclusion is being met with widespread backlash, with critics accusing Glamour of “celebrating moral confusion” and “rewarding insensitivity” in a year when antisemitism and tensions surrounding the Israel–Hamas conflict remain at historic highs.

For Rachel Zegler, 24, the controversy is just the latest chapter in a tumultuous year marked by social media scandals, political outbursts, and box-office failure.

The actress, who rose to fame in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake and was cast as Disney’s live-action Snow White, quickly saw her reputation unravel in a series of tone-deaf public remarks and political provocations that alienated much of her once-supportive fan base.

As The New York Post report recounted, Zegler first stirred outrage when she posted “and always remember, free Palestine” shortly after the trailer for Snow White was released. The seemingly simple phrase — widely used at pro-Palestinian rallies — carries complex and often incendiary associations. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has repeatedly warned that the slogan has been co-opted in extremist contexts, noting that it has been used “to intimidate and attack Jews and Jewish institutions, and to justify violence committed against Jews globally.”

Zegler’s post, The New York Post report noted, caused chaos inside Disney, where executives were already scrambling to salvage the Snow White marketing campaign amid accusations that Zegler had insulted the company’s legacy. Internal reports suggested tensions even extended to her co-star Gal Gadot, an Israeli actress who has publicly supported Israel’s right to defend itself.

The fallout from Zegler’s conduct was swift and measurable. Disney’s Snow White — budgeted at a staggering $270 million — catastrophically underperformed at the box office, leading insiders to tell The New York Post that Zegler’s political commentary and abrasive demeanor “did real damage” to the film’s commercial prospects.

Jonah Platt, son of producer Marc Platt, even stated in a now-deleted Instagram comment that Zegler’s social media presence “clearly hurt the film’s box office.”

The New York Post reported that Disney executives, reeling from the losses, are now re-evaluating several upcoming live-action remakes — a direct response to the Snow White debacle, which became a lightning rod for criticism from both conservatives and fans nostalgic for the studio’s traditional storytelling.

Zegler also attracted public ire after mocking the original 1937 Snow White classic, calling it a “dated” story about “a guy who literally stalks” the main character. She went further, suggesting that Prince Charming be removed entirely from the remake.

That comment, combined with her “free Palestine” tweet, cemented her status as one of the most polarizing figures in Hollywood’s current culture wars — a sharp fall from grace for a performer once hailed as a symbol of the next generation’s promise.

Despite the backlash, some of Zegler’s former mentors and teachers have come to her defense.

Gregory Liosi, artistic director of the Hackensack Performing Arts Center, who directed Zegler in several high school productions, told The New York Post that while her remarks were controversial, they reflected youthful impulsiveness rather than malice.

“Everybody is going to have an opinion, and I will never fault anyone for having one,” Liosi said. “There comes a point where one of the things that come with maturity and age is knowing when and where to express your opinions. I don’t see that she did anything wrong. I just see that she did something that any kid would do — she just did it under a microscope the whole world could see.”

Joseph Azzolino, the longtime president and principal of Immaculate Conception High School in Lodi, New Jersey — Zegler’s alma mater, which closed in 2023 — told The Post he wasn’t sure what precisely caused offense but added, “I hope she’s being guided properly. As an educator, you hope your students are being taught and guided properly.”

Still, Zegler’s impulsive activism and inflammatory social media presence — including a since-deleted 2025 post stating, “May Trump supporters and Trump voters and Trump himself never know peace” — have come to define her public image. Although she later apologized, The New York Post report observed that she refused to remove her “free Palestine” statement, signaling her unwillingness to disavow the sentiment despite widespread backlash.

While Zegler’s controversies erupted from Hollywood, Rachel Griffin Accurso, known to millions of families worldwide as Ms. Rachel, was blindsided by outrage from an entirely different sphere.

The 42-year-old educator and performer — whose YouTube channel, Songs for Littles, has surpassed 10 billion views — built her brand around wholesome, emotionally affirming content designed to help children learn speech and social-emotional skills. But in 2024, Ms. Rachel shocked her enormous fanbase by wading into one of the most divisive geopolitical conflicts of the era.

As The New York Post reported, Griffin Accurso began posting videos and social media messages expressing sympathy for civilians in Gaza during the Israel–Hamas war. In one widely viewed clip, she sang a soft prayer:

“This is a prayer for children in Gaza, this is a prayer for children in Israel. This is a prayer for all the children: Please stop hurting them. This is a prayer for all the civilians. This is a prayer for all the hostages. This is a prayer for all the innocent. Please stop hurting them.”

The video sparked immediate backlash. While some praised her call for peace, advocacy groups accused her of imbalance and misinformation. The watchdog organization StopAntisemitism publicly condemned her posts, requesting that the Department of Justice investigate whether her messaging was being influenced by Hamas sympathizers.

According to the information contained in The New York Post report, the group documented more than 50 posts Griffin Accurso made about suffering in Gaza, compared to only about five posts referencing Israeli victims. One of her posts featured a photograph of a malnourished Gazan child who was later revealed to be suffering from cystic fibrosis — a genetic illness unrelated to starvation.

The controversy deepened when Ms. Rachel appeared in a summer 2024 video with Motaz Azaiza, a Palestinian journalist known for his pro-resistance rhetoric. Azaiza, who commands millions of followers, once wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “May God curse the Jews themselves.”

Although Ms. Rachel never endorsed his views directly, her collaboration with him prompted a fresh wave of outrage and calls for advertisers to cut ties with her brand. She has since remained largely silent on the matter, saying only that she “supports all children — Israeli and Gazan alike.”

But for many parents, as The New York Post report noted, the damage was done. Ms. Rachel’s online community, once a near-universal safe space for families, became a battleground of political vitriol. Critics accused her of “using children’s content to launder propaganda,” while defenders insisted her message was one of universal compassion.

Despite the uproar, Ms. Rachel’s subscriber base remains massive, underscoring the paradox of online celebrity in the social media era: outrage and influence can coexist — even thrive — side by side.

That both women — one a Hollywood ingénue and the other a digital educator — were selected by Glamour as “Women of the Year” speaks volumes about the cultural fault lines running through American media.

As The New York Post report observed, the magazine’s annual list, once a straightforward celebration of female achievement, now routinely doubles as a reflection of the ideological divides shaping entertainment, politics, and global discourse.

To critics, Glamour’s embrace of figures like Zegler and Accurso is less about celebrating excellence than about valorizing provocation. “It’s performative contrarianism disguised as progressivism,” one entertainment industry insider told The New York Post. “They’re rewarding controversy — not courage.”

Others see the move as a sign of the shifting media landscape, where attention and engagement often trump consensus or decorum. In that sense, both Rachels embody the contradictions of modern fame: deeply polarizing yet undeniably influential.

Glamour’s 2025 honorees also include a group of WNBA players recognized for their advocacy on women’s sports and legendary makeup artist Pat McGrath, whose artistry has redefined beauty standards. Yet, as The New York Post report pointed out, the inclusion of Zegler and Ms. Rachel threatens to eclipse these accomplishments under a cloud of controversy.

In the end, the debate over Glamour’s choices mirrors the broader crisis in cultural recognition itself — an age where celebrity is both weapon and liability, and where moral clarity is often lost in the fog of viral noise.

For Zegler and Griffin Accurso, the accolades are a double-edged sword: validation of their reach and relevance, but also a reminder that fame, in the age of social media, carries an inexhaustible moral reckoning.

As one Hollywood publicist told The New York Post, “Glamour knew exactly what it was doing. These are women who dominate headlines — for better or worse. In 2025, that’s what passes for power.”