Rachel Zegler 'felt unsafe in her skin' amid online backlash

Rachel Zegler shut herself inside her apartment over the summer after being trolled on social media.

The West Side Story actress, who is Latina, first experienced backlash when she was cast as Snow White in Disney's live-action movie, and she came under fire earlier this year when she revealed that her film would be more feminist and less "dated" than the animated original.

Zegler, 22, revealed how the online hate made her feel as she reflected on the highs and lows of her year in a thread on X/Twitter on Sunday.

"Starting to have that 'thank god this year is almost over' feeling," she began. "That being said i am also extremely reflective of all that's happened this year. i don't photograph the bad moments because duh but look at these precious memories. i gave a dog a home. people got me birthday cakes at work. i wore pretty dresses. the love of my life was there."

She continued, "I navigated what it felt like to feel unsafe in my skin because of what the world had to say about who i am. but those moments - when i shut myself inside my apartment for the summer - were the ones where i felt the most love from the people (and puppies) that count."

In her thread, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes star highlighted the movies she has made this year, the co-stars that have become friends, and her relationship with fellow actor Josh Andrés Rivera.

She concluded the thread, "Anyways. it's good. love is good. i choose love. i hope you do, too."

Zegler previously addressed the online hate during her interview with The Little Mermaid's Halle Bailey for Variety's Actors on Actors series.

She explained that it is hard to resist the urge to respond but she has found that "it fuels them more" and isn't worth "the time and energy".

"(I'm) so thankful for those moments because they make me feel like solid Teflon," she said. "That nothing can hurt anymore because they've said the worst that can be said. You just say, 'Thank you so much for this. I have a lot of love in my life, and I'm very thankful.' We get to do our work and have that speak for itself instead."