A producer for “Snow White” recently reprimanded the film’s star, Rachel Zegler, for mixing the film’s promotion with leftist activism. Her decision to trash the original “Snow White” film and focus on politics over publicity will likely cost Disney millions of dollars. But doesn’t she have the right to speak freely? Glenn explains why this is yet another example of a narcissistic generation that believes their careers should be handed to them. It’s not about free speech when she’s being paid millions to promote Disney’s movie. Glenn also reads the fiery comments of the producer’s son, who summarized the whole situation perfectly.
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: But the problem with our society, can be found with Snow White, and what's going on with Snow White. We have too many people that don't know what it's like to actually work.
They -- they don't know what merit is. Because they get paid whether they succeed or not.
You know, they were talking about SNAP, and yesterday, we shared the information about SNAP and sugary cereals, and everything else, that shouldn't be a part of SNAP. Well, they should be able to buy whatever they want. No. Not on our dime. How is that? How is that? This really comes from Benjamin Franklin, he believes the best way to get people out of the circle of poverty is to make them uncomfortable in their poverty. Meaning, you know, you don't get what you want.
You know, you get what you need. And there's a difference between needs and wants.
And if we give people what they need, people want more than that.
Well, they'll learn that they have to change their behavior. Maybe their behavior is self-destructive.
Maybe their behavior is just pure laziness. Maybe it's a lack of education.
But we can find those solutions together, if you're not getting what you want. You're only getting what you need.
You know, it was Edward Bernays that said, you know, the problem with America is: We've got a problem of needs. We need to turn this around, to a country of wants. He, by the way, was the father of American propaganda. He's the guy whose books all taught Goebbels how to make germ my into an all-new place. He is the author of modern advertising.
We've got to just change this from a nation of needs to a nation of wants. No. We need to do the exact opposite now.
We need to make our nation, a nation of needs, again.
And that -- that one even understands needs. So the producer of Snow White, Marc Platt, the son -- sorry, the sone of the producer, Marc Platt has just gone on X, and hmm. Defended -- defended his family's name, and the father.
So one commenter wrote in his Instagram and tried to flip the switch here, and flip the narrative. Apparently, his dad had to fly to New York City, to reprimand what's-her-face? The woman who played Snow White. What's-her-face?
Rachel Ziegler. Had to reprimand. Because when they went on tour for publicity, she starts in with all of her political nonsense, and that wasn't helping Disney. It wasn't helping the movie.
You know, hey, Snow white.
Yeah. Let me tell you about Palestine and Israel. And how bad Israel is.
And how bad Trump is!
Okay. That's not going to help sell the movie. You've just divided the country in half. So you've lost half of the revenue, we could have had.
Because you pissed off half of the country.
Now, this is what exactly -- what would be said to me.
You know, I go in, and I say, hey. I would want to work at NBC.
First of all, it would never happen. Because I wouldn't want to work at NBC. But two, they would never hire me.
If it was a serious consideration.
You know why they wouldn't hire me?
If everyone was being honest.
The same reason why they wouldn't hire anybody from the View. Or Rosie O'Donnell.
Because I'm a polarizing figure. Because I speak about politics.
So I lose half the audience.
When you're in mass media. When you're making movies.
You don't want to lose half the audience.
You want to get everybody into a seat.
You're there not only to make a beautiful, arc film.
You're also there to put butts in the seats, to make money for the company or yourself.
So he has to go across the country, and say, hey. Can you top?
Can you please stop talking about your pro-Palestinian views and anti-Trump comments and, you know, how -- how this film was just creepy in the 1930s? Can you stop? This is a beloved film.
So somebody goes on Twitter and says to Jonah Platt, son of the producer, your Dad flew to New York City to reprimand a young actress. Any word on this? Because that's creepy as hell. And uncalled for. People have the right to free speech, shame on your father.
Oh, my gosh. I'm not the son of the producer. And I want to respond to that. But the son of the producer did respond.
Here's what he said: You really want to do this? Yeah. My Dad, the producer of an enormous piece of Disney IP with hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, had to leave his family to fly across the country to reprimand a 20-year-old employee, for dragging her personal politics into the middle of promotion for a movie.
Which she signed a multi-million-dollar contract for, to get paid and do publicity for.
This is what you call adult responsibility and accountability. And her actions clearly hurt the film's box office. Free speech does not mean you're allowed to say whatever you want in your private employment without repercussions.
Tens of thousands of people worked on that film, and she hijacked the conversation for her own immature desires, at the risk of all of the colleagues and crew, and the blue-collar workers who depends on that movie to be successful. Narcissism is not something to be coddled or encouraged.
I don't think I could have said it better. I would have said it meaner, perhaps. I don't think I could have said that better.
This is -- this is how narcissistic -- how narcissistic our society has become.
It's all about me.
It has nothing to do with the blue-collar workers that are depending on that movie to be successful.
Has nothing to do with the thousands of people, the tens of thousands of people, that worked on that movie.
No. It's all about her!
And what she believes. And what she wants.
You know, when I first went into Fox.
I turned Fox down, probably three or four times.
Stu, how many times it they offer that job? And I kept saying no.
STU: It was several.
GLENN: Several. And Roger Ailes finally called me into the Murdoch lunchroom, and I went over to meet with him.
And he sat there with a bunch of executives. And he said, what is it about our number one status?
And the money that I'm offering you, that is much more than I think you're making now.
What is it that just doesn't interest you?
And I said, Roger, I know your business.
I know it!
You don't know anything about my business.
And until you know and care about my business.
I can't do business with you. Because I have two masters I would be serving. My business, my career, and yours. And I know your business. So I know the lines that I cannot cross. This is not my company. So if you say, Glenn, you're not to do that. I need to evaluate before I go into business with you.
Am I willing to play by your rules?
Because I can't get on to your platform, and then have you say, Glenn.
And then break those, that would harm your company.
Because I am being paid as an employee by you. Now, that doesn't mean that we will agree on everything.
But I'm not going to do harm to your company. And I need you to tell you, you're not going to do harm to my company.
So that was the beginning of the conversation of going into business with Fox.
And -- and I -- I have prided that any company that I've ever done business with. That I was a good partner.
They weren't necessarily good partners of mine. Most of them have been great partners.
But I've tried to do the right thing, in looking at their company.
Because they have hired me.
Okay. Why is that any different, than these actresses, that just believe they have free speech?
You don't have free speech without consequence.
You can say whatever you want.
But she was on the Disney dime. She's being flown to New York City. To have interviews, that were set up by Disney about Snow White. It was -- she was there, being paid to promote the Disney movie.
Not her propaganda. Not her belief. I wouldn't have the right to sit there. I would have said -- if they would have asked me, and they would have. They would have tried to goad me into something. I would say, it's not the time or place. I'm here to talk about Snow White. I'm not hear to talk about Donald Trump. I'm not here to talk about Israel or Hamas.
That's what I would have done.
And if you don't believe me, well, then you haven't listened to me long enough.
I know what my responsibility is. And if I'm going to make that deal and get into business with somebody, I know the difference of when I'm on their dime and when I'm not on their dime.
Now, I want to leave that, and hold my own press conference.
I think it's unfair to do. Because you are still promoting that movie. So if you do it, at the same time you're in promotion, you're going to sabotage your partner Disney. And that's not right. But if I felt strongly about it. I would get off of the tour, after I finished the tour, and I would say something then, in my own space and my own time.
And I would make it clear. This has nothing to do with Disney.
It has nothing to do with the movie. The movie is completely separate.
Now, if somebody wants to make it about the movie. That's fine. That's their thing.
But I'm not on the company dime.
That's how freedom of speech works. You have freedom of speech. But if you're being -- if you're on somebody else's dime, you have the responsibility to respect their wishes and respect what they're asking you to do.
What you do in your own home. Fine.
However, Disney would have the right, and they wouldn't have, because they agree with her on everything.
Oh, men are just disgusting. Especially white men.
They're all there with you.
So they will not let you go!
They let Roseanne go.
Sure. But not her!
Even though, this is a massive flop, they didn't let her go. They just had the producer fly out and say, can you shut the pie hole for a minute?
You're killing us. You're killing the movie.
You're killing everybody who worked on this movie.
You're killing Disney. What you are doing?
If this woman gets another acting job in a movie?
It will tell you everything you need to know about Hollywood.
There's no way this woman should be hired for anything ever again.
One of the bigger box office bombs, the reason why it was a bomb.
Is because she was just completely irresponsible.
Now, how do we teach our children this responsibility?
We teach our children this responsibility, by not allowing them to become narcissistic.
You know what, sweetheart. Life isn't fair.
And it's not always about you. Once we start looking and gazing at our own image on social media all the time. And we begin to believe that we're the most important thing ever, the whole thing goes to the crapper!
We have to put narcissism back into the ugly place, that it has always been. And understand that we are a narcissistic society.
And that needs to change.