Rachel Zegler’s cover of a Joni Mitchell classic draws the last reactions anyone was expecting

Rachel Zegler has traded a poison apple for an acoustic guitar, delivering a live rendition of a Joni Mitchell song that has attracted a surprising reaction among fans. 

The Snow White star took to her social media this week to share a video of herself singing “A Case of You”, a track lifted from Mitchell’s 1971 album, Blue. The actress appeared to have captured the video from her home, and while dwarfs were suspiciously absent, Zegler was greeted by her dog towards the end of the clip. “You like Joni Mitchell?” she asked the dog, likely forgetting that animals can only talk in Disney live-action remakes. 

Zegler captioned the post: “local woman crashes out on joni mitchell,” though her vocals sound less like crashing and more like ascending. While we shouldn’t have expected anything less from the star of Snow White and West Side Story, Zegler’s performance was mesmeric, and was commended as such by legions of followers. “Her voice really brings a whole new depth to this song, so delicate and full of emotion,” one fan wrote. 

Others said the performance made “my ears ascend,” or noted that they “needed this kind of softness today” (me too, girl). For those who’ve been keeping up to date with Zegler, this kind of positive (yet entirely welcome) reception might seem surprising. Between a years-long, racist troll campaign over her casting in Snow White to rumors of tension with her co-star Gal Gadot and news of a scaled-back premiere due to all the controversy, the actress has weathered quite the storm in terms of public scrutiny. 

her voice really brings a whole new depth to this song, so delicate and full of emotion

— ʚɞ (@holigirll) April 8, 2025

It has culminated in Zegler responding to all the critics on multiple occasions, though not enough to compensate at the box office. The live-action remake of Snow White, which landed in cinemas last month, is expected to have lost $155 million, which surely would’ve been enough to refurbish that dingy cottage the dwarfs call home. The live-action remake wasn’t exactly a hit with critics, either, but the avalanche of bad press was only added to this month, when Zegler caught heat after being named on the guest list for this year’s Met Gala. 

She will attend the star-studded ceremony — which takes place early next month — alongside the likes of Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter and Lady Gaga, meaning they are contractually obligated by the universe to deliver some kind of red carpet medley. Since Zegler can’t breath without enraging the haters, her invite to the ceremony was predictably met with resistance, but she’ll be laughing all the way up those perilous-looking Met Gala steps.

Coincidentally, Zegler isn’t the only celebrity to have recently shown love for Mitchell. Last month, fellow movie musical star Amanda Seyfried stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to deliver an impromptu rendition of the musician’s 1971 track “California”, while discussing the process behind her roles in Mamma Mia! and Les Misérables.

For the record, this writer’s favorite Mitchell song is “Both Sides Now”, not least because it led him into an emotional tizzy when it played as Emma Thompson discovered her husband’s infidelity in Love Actually. I also cried in Snow White, but mostly because of Gadot’s acting.