It’s been a busy day for Rachel Zegler, who appeared on the cover of a new Teen Vogue issue and had some choice words for those obsessed with hating on Taylor Swift.
The actress — who is set to hunger for a poisonous apple as the star of the upcoming Snow White remake — was joined on the Teen Vogue cover by Kit Connor. Alongside his role as heartthrob Nick Nelson in Heartstopper (and possibly a Marvel future), Connor is currently starring opposite Zegler in the star crossed lovers and title roles of Sam Gold’s Broadway adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.
If Zelger’s job was to promote the Broadway show with the Teen Vogue cover, she deserves a raise. À la Coco Chanel, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes actress keeps it simple with a stunning and figure-hugging little black dress. So simple, in fact, that she went completely barefoot, because who even needs shoes anyway?
For his part, an also-barefoot Connor sports a pair of baggy jeans and a singlet showcasing what might just be the result of his weightlifting efforts while preparing for the role of Hulkling. In some photos from the shoot, Connor is seen giving Zegler a rose, so maybe — despite all the people who ghosted me on Tinder — romance isn’t really dead after all?
Not content with just turning heads in a photoshoot, Zegler went on to get tongues wagging in the accompanying Teen Vogue interview, delivering a stern message to all those Swift haters. “You don’t know her,” Zegler said of anyone on the anti-Swiftie train, which gained many new passengers following her endorsement of Kamala Harris last month.
“You don’t know this person,” the actress added of Swift haters. “Spend your time learning a craft. Touch some grass. Kiss a girl, do something.”
Truer words have never been spoken, Ms. Zegler. That comment was part of the actress’ broader discussion of the internet’s all-too frequent pattern of attacking female celebrities, a system she was unfortunately at the receiving end of following the widespread backlash over her comments about the original Snow White.
Hammering home the point, Zegler listed Swift as one of many women celebrities who’ve been torn down over the years, citing names like Jameela Jamil, Jennifer Lawrence, Anne Hathaway, and Halle Bailey, the last of whom was also subject to heavy scrutiny at the hands of a Disney live action remake.
“And now they’ve moved on to Chappell,” Zegler said, presumably in reference to online hate directed at Chappell Roan last month, “F**k them.” Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that Zegler is able to so swiftly defend herself and her peers, since she has had no trouble responding to social media trolls in the past.
Last year, she confidently shutdown the racist haters who were opposed to her being cast in Snow White, describing it as “nonsensical discourse” and declaring that she “really, truly [did] not want to see” all the naysayers’ comments.
To do all that and also deliver show-stopping cover shoots while completely barefoot? That’s the behavior of a true mother, and we simply cannot help but stan. Oh, and I guess that makes Connor our father? No complaints here.