Conservative Podcaster Suggests Disney’s ‘Woke’ Snow White Needs a Financial Audit

Disney’s live-action remakes have always stirred up significant conversation, but none seem to have attracted as much controversy as Snow White (2025). From the casting choices to the public comments surrounding the film, the remake has been embroiled in debates that mix entertainment with politics.

The film, which stars Rachel Zegler as Snow White and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, has made headlines for reasons beyond the usual buzz of a Disney remake. With mixed reviews and disappointing box office performance, the film’s struggles have led to unexpected calls for action, including one from a very unexpected source.

Related: Revealed: ‘Snow White’ Remake Includes Controversial Scene From 1937 Animated Movie 

From the start, the film was surrounded by criticism and controversy. The trolls came out in force, saying that Zegler — who is Colombian and Polish — did not have the right look to play Snow White.

While that critique can be glossed over, it was far from the only issue surrounding the film. Instead of using actors from the Little People community, Disney decided to use CGI to create the dwarves. Many fans felt that the dwarves looked too fake for the new film, and this added fuel to the fire of controversy surrounding the production.

And then there was the lead actress herself, who seemingly could not stop digging a deeper and deeper hole.

Related: Disney’s ‘Snow White’ Backlash Was  Brutal – And It’s Next Idea Might Be Worse

From the jump, Ms. Zegler made it clear that she wasn’t a fan of the original tale and stated that her version of Snow White would take a more proactive role, instead of simply having things happen to her. She even went so far as to say that Snow White didn’t even need a prince. This departure from the original character raised some eyebrows, as many fans of the classic animated film didn’t appreciate the modern twist.

Then, she made even more enemies with her stance on the war between Israel and the Palestinian people. Ms. Zegler has stood by the Palestinian people, which put her at odds with her co-star Gal Gadot, who is Israeli.

Unfortunately, Disney was unable to repair Snow White’s image and the film opened to a very sluggish box office. The film only made $42 million at the domestic box office, with earnings dropping more than 50% the following weekend. Considering the film needs to make around $500 million to break even, things aren’t looking great for Disney.

And now, a well-known podcaster is demanding a federal investigation into how much money Disney spent to make Snow White.

In a recent episode of his podcast, Joe Rogan spoke out against Disney’s “woke” retelling of its original princess.

“Wait, how much did this cost? They should get DOGE to look at this movie. They spent $250 million bucks making that movie?”

“Imagine you spent $250 million, and you get some young girl, and you don’t kind of talk to her about like, ‘Hey, you know, don’t get political. You’re young, and I know you have opinions about things, but this should just be about the movie.’”

It should be noted that Snow White producer Marc Platt did reportedly fly out to see Zegler to discuss the politically charged comments she was making. Despite this, the damage had been done, and the film struggled to connect with a wide audience.

While Mr. Rogan might think it is appropriate for Elon Musk and DOGE to investigate the money spent on Snow White, that is unlikely to happen. Firstly, the money spent on the film falls pretty in line with the average cost of making a similar style of film.

Second, DOGE stands for the Department of Government Efficiency. It is in charge of investigating and finding government waste. So, there would be no reason to look into Disney’s finances since Disney is not a part of the United States government.

Sadly, the effects of Snow White’s box office failure are being felt in unexpected places.

It was recently reported that Disney has put plans for its live-action remake of Tangled (2010) on the back burner. With how poorly Snow White performed, Disney is reportedly hesitant to make another live-action princess film.

What do you think about Joe Rogan’s comments? Should Disney’s Snow White spending be investigated? Or should everyone just move on? Share your thoughts in the comments!