Peter Dinklage slams Disney’s Snow White remake over dwarf stereotypes

He was promoting the new film while out and about Cyrano, Game of ThronesPeter Dinklage, star of Star Trek: The Next Generation called out Disney regarding its live-action version of Snow White. This is the new version Snow White and Seven Dwarfs — not to be confused by non-Disney projects, Snow White and The Huntsman Mirror, Mirror — stars Rachel Zegler (West Side Story) as Snow White and Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) as the Evil Queen.

“I was a little taken aback by [the fact] they were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White,” Dinklage said on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, “but you’re still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”

Dinklage is afflicted with a condition called dwarfism, aka achondroplasia. While Disney may be working to correct the film’s homogenous white history, Dinklage believes that any remake will perpetuate outdated stereotypes of little people. There’s no Snow White without the seven dwarfs, in theory.

“You’re progressive in one way but you’re still making that fucking backward story of seven dwarfs living in the cave. Man, what are you doing? Did I do anything to help the cause? I guess I’m not loud enough,” Dinklage told Maron during the interview, released on Monday. “They were so proud of that, and all love and respect to the actress and the people who thought they were doing the right thing, but I’m just like … what are you doing?”

A previous Snow White retelling — Snow White and The Huntsman, starring Kristen Stewart — was met with backlash in 2012 after casting actors without dwarfism, including Bob Hoskins and Ian McShane, to play Snow White’s friends. Dwarfism advocacy group Little People of America condemned the movie, calling the casting “akin to blackface”. Mirror, MirrorThe 2012 release of starred actors with short stature for the dwarf roles.

Director of the upcoming movie Snow White, Amazing Spdier Man’s Marc Webb will be an adaptation of Disney’s 1937 classic, as well as an expansion of the Grimm fairy tale. Andrew Burnap, a male lead character with a mystery role has been chosen to replace Zegler. Casting has not been done for the dwarfs. The film is currently not scheduled for release.