Rachel Zegler made a powerful statement about her controversial career trajectory with her 2026 Met Gala ensemble, adhering to the 'Fashion is Art' dress code. The Snow White actress made her third appearance at the annual event in a stunning Atelier Prabal Gurung gown, a pearl silk dress accessorised with a custom silk mask by Jennifer Behr.
Rachel, 25, later confirmed that the blindfold referenced Paul Delaroche's famous 1833 painting The Execution of Lady Jane Grey, who was beheaded in 1554 for high treason. Fans applauded the reference, musing that Rachel's own experience with 'scapegoating' and 'cancel culture' could be linked back to the painting's subject.
'rachel zegler referencing the execution of lady jane grey who was wrongfully scapegoated and executed when she was just a teen girl, thinking thoughts,' pointed out one fan on X. Another agreed: 'She really said “they tried to cancel me but history will remember me as the tragic icon” This is next level self-awareness. Rachel ate and left no crumbs.'
Lady Jane Grey, regarded as one of the most learned young women of her day, reigned for just nine days as Queen of England following the death of her cousin Edward VI in 1553. She was given precedence to the crown over Mary Tudor, half-sister of the late king who removed her from the line of succession in his will because of her illegitimacy. Mary, who had the support of the English people, claimed the throne, and Jane was imprisoned in the Tower of London on charges of high treason before she was beheaded at the age of 17.
Rachel starred as Snow White in Disney's woke live-action adaptation last year, but it was fraught with controversy, including changes to the plot and claims of behind-the-scenes tension between her and co-star Gal Gadot. After the film flopped at the box office, Rachel reinvented herself as a West End star with her performance in Evita. It was announced last week that she will reprise the role of Eva Perón on Broadway in 2027.
In a March cover story with Harper's Bazaar UK, Rachel opened up about the backlash that threatened to derail her career. She told the publication that she faced not only trolling but also threats to her safety, after being branded not Latino enough for her role as María in Steven Spielberg's West Side Story, but then too Latino for Snow White.
'I was told I wasn’t enough of one thing for West Side Story and too much of another for Snow White. It was a really confusing time to be in my early twenties and hearing that,' she said. 'I grew up proud of being Colombian – eating the food, wearing the dresses, drinking the coffee, doing all the things that were so intrinsic to who I was as a kid and who I am as an adult – but I do think there’s an argument to be made that... In the public eye at least, when you’re two things, you’re simultaneously nothing. But I refuse to assimilate for anybody else’s comfort.'
She went on: 'If I’d been able to predict everything that would come my way, the threats to my safety, I would have just thrown my phone into the ocean. I think any sane person would have.'
