Disney backtracked on its claim that photos showing Snow White’s new accomplices, previously called the seven dwarfs, were “fake” in what a news outlet said was a “misunderstanding” on its correction notice.
The Daily Mail published a story Friday showing an inside look into Disney’s live-action production for the classic film. The outlet accused Disney of adapting the film’s iconic characters into “magical creatures” to be “politically correct.”
The Daily Beast reported how conservatives were upset about the photos from the movie but a Disney spokesperson told them the photos were “fake.” Disney said it was seeking a correction and disputed the authenticity of the images.
“The photos are fake and not from our production. We are currently trying to have the Daily Mail issue a correction,” a Disney spokesperson told the Daily Beast.
However, Disney walked backed their previous statement, verifying the photos were from their production but weren’t official.
“Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect that… the studio later said the photos were from the production but were not official photos,” The Daily Beast added.
Disney said it changed the dwarfs to “avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film” in a statement to Hollywood Reporter. “[W]e are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community.”
Disney shared in January 2022 that the “seven dwarfs” would be referred to as “magical creatures” to “avoid reinforcing stereotypes” after criticism of the original depictions by “Game of Thrones” actor Peter Dinklage, who has dwarfism.
“To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community. We look forward to sharing more as the film heads into production after a lengthy development period,” a Disney spokesperson previously told The Hollywood Reporter.
