Wearing a “ceasefire” bracelet in Palestinian colors while giving the interview, Zegler quotes a recent Hannah Einbinder speech about the responsibility that comes with having a platform. This speech was also endorsed on social media by Ben Platt, son of megaproducer Marc Platt, who reportedly flew to New York just to scold Zegler about her “free Palestine” post in 2024. Ben’s brother Jonah confirmed this story, writing on social media that Marc “had to leave his family to fly across the country to reprimand his 20 year old employee for dragging her personal politics into the middle of promoting the movie for which she signed a multi-million dollar contract to get paid and do publicity for.” (He further accused Zegler of “narcissism.”) The Dear Evan Hansen star has not only criticized Israel (breaking from his family’s apparent stance), he has also publicly affirmed his friendship with Zegler on social media.
This is all to say that the ins and outs of power and politics in Hollywood are complicated. During the height of the backlash, Zegler says she retreated to her parents’ home, and found comfort in her psychiatrist’s reminder that “What you’re going through isn’t normal.” She began taking anxiety medication, “which was truly a game changer, because I just wasn’t functioning. And I wanted to function in a way that made me feel confident in the way I was moving through the world,” she tells i-D. She admits she “lost a lot of opportunities for joy by thinking ‘there’s no way I could possibly survive this,'” but ultimately she doesn’t “choose” to have a victim mindset. “I also don’t choose nastiness in the face of it. I don’t choose negativity in the face of it. I choose positivity and light and happiness. And I do believe at times, happiness is absolutely a choice, and every day I wake up and I think I’m very lucky to live the life I live.”
Now starring in the West End revival of Evita, Zegler continues to stand by her beliefs. “My compassion has no boundaries, is really what it is, and my support for one cause does not denounce any others. That’s always been at the core of who I am as a person,” she says. “It’s the way I was raised.”
