Rachel Zegler’s Under-the-Radar Power Move Sparks Rift Rumors With Gal Gadot

Celebrity friendships are usually boring PR packages. This one has layers. Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot worked together on Disney's Snow White and have been orbiting each other ever since, mostly because their politics don’t line up and fans keep score. Now there’s a fresh data point: the Instagram unfollow.

The new wrinkle: Zegler hit unfollow

Per @BuzzingPop on X, Rachel Zegler, 24, has unfollowed Gal Gadot, 40, on Instagram. As of that report, Gadot was still following Zegler. Is a social media unfollow the end of the world? No. But in celebrity land, it’s not nothing—especially when people already think there’s smoke.

Why people care about this one

The pair’s reported friction hasn’t just been about movie-star egos. Zegler has been outspoken in support of Palestine, including signing the Artists4Ceasefire letter. Gadot, meanwhile, has been a vocal supporter of Israel throughout the war in Gaza—what many activists have labeled a genocide. That divide has followed them from set to red carpets, with multiple outlets noting clashes long before any Instagram cleanup.

Context: they co-led Disney’s Snow White, with Zegler as the princess and Gadot as the Evil Queen. Despite their marquee pairing, they didn’t do a ton of joint press. They did show up together at the Oscars and at the film’s premiere, but that was the exception rather than the rule.

The earlier chatter

Back when this was just rumor mill material, a tabloid source told The Sun that the two were not close off-camera:

"They are not friends. They did a job together and that’s it."

Harsh, but it lined up with how separated their promo looked.

Gadot tried to shut it down in August

In August, Gadot went on the Israeli TV program The A Talks and pushed back on the feud narrative. She said she genuinely enjoyed making Snow White and working with Zegler, and that they had fun on set. She also admitted she thought the movie would be a big hit. Then she pivoted to the fallout from the October 7 attacks, saying that in many industries, not just Hollywood, there was intense pressure on public figures to post against Israel. Gadot said she tries to offer people context about the situation in Israel, but ultimately, people decide for themselves. She added that she was disappointed the film’s box office took a hit and basically shrugged: you win some, you lose some.

Those comments did not land softly. She caught a wave of backlash online, including on Reddit, from people who were not interested in separating her statements from the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

So, does the unfollow mean war?

Not necessarily. People unfollow for all kinds of reasons. But given the timing and everything leading up to it, it does add fuel to a story that refuses to stay quiet.

• Earlier this year: Reports claimed the two barely interacted off-camera and weren’t close (via The Sun).
• August: Gadot told The A Talks she enjoyed working with Zegler, addressed post–Oct. 7 pressure on public figures, and said Snow White’s box office suffered.
• Now: Zegler has unfollowed Gadot on Instagram; Gadot still follows Zegler (per @BuzzingPop on X).

Bottom line

If you’ve been tracking this saga, the unfollow is one more chess move in a very PR-world game. If you haven’t, here’s the quick read: two co-stars with opposing views on a highly charged global conflict made a movie together that underperformed, denied a feud, and are now curating their feeds accordingly. Make of that what you will.