Rachel Zegler recalled her ‘worst’ movie musical audition during an appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers on Thursday. 

The Snow White actress, 23 – who recently garnered backlash for her shocking comments geared towards Trump voters – also talked about recording music for her latest Netflix film тιтled Spellbound. 

The star has also been embroiled in drama after saying she ‘hated’ the original 1937 Snow White animation – although the topic of the upcoming Disney adaptation was not brought up amid the interview. 

At one point during the latest episode, Zegler – who wore Michael Kors – discussed the self-tape she made while auditioning for the role of Maria in the 2021 musical film, West Side Story. 

Among 30,000 other auditions – Rachel was cast in the movie – and she told Meyers, ‘It is insane. I am thankful for it everyday…

‘But yeah, I put myself on tape. It’s the worst tape you have ever seen in your life. I have no idea how I got the part,’ she admitted. 

Rachel Zegler, 23, recalled her ‘worst’ movie musical audition during an appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers on Thursday; seen earlier this month in NYC 

Zegler then revealed that the tape ‘is being used to teach future casting directors at NYU. And when they asked me for that, I was like, “Is it a good example or a bad example?”‘ 

She humorously continued, ‘Please don’t let me be the bad example in your college course.’ 

Read More Snow White star Rachel Zegler breaks cover in NYC amid Trump backlash

Myers jokingly replied, ‘It would be very funny if a professor was like, “And even though she was cast out of 30,000, this is bad. This is why this is bad! We can’t base our careers on results.”‘ 

The host explained that her character of Maria was based on Romeo & Juliet – a Broadway play that she is now starring in alongside Kit Connor. 

When asked if her role in West Side Story helped her in making her Broadway debut in Shakespeare’s iconic play, Rachel said, ‘Absolutely.’ 

‘If anything, it gave me such a deeper appreciation for the work that Tony Kushner – who adapted our script on West Side Story – the research that went into it…’

‘And he encouraged us to go back to the text, study the Shakespeare, it will inform so much and it did. And now I come to it as – it’s like coming home. It really, really is an amazing thing to get to do.’

The production – where Rachel portrays Juliet – is directed by Sam Gold and has music from Taylor Swift’s producer, Jack Antonoff.

Here Seth seemed very impressed with the young actress

‘But yeah, I put myself on tape. It’s the worst tape you have ever seen in your life. I have no idea how I got the part,’ she admitted; seen above in West Side Story 

Previews began last month on September 26, and opening night took place on October 24.

The synopsis is: ‘Left to their own devices in their parents’ world of violent ends, an impulsive pair of star-crossed lovers hurtle towards their inescapable fate.’

‘The intoxicating high of pᴀssion quickly descends into a brutal chaos that can only end one way,’ according to the production’s official website.

Towards the end of the interview, Zegler dished on her latest project, Spellbound, which officially dropped on Netflix on Friday. 

In the animated film, Rachel was joined by other cast members including Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, John Lithgow, Jenifer Lewis and Jordan Fisher. 

The movie, ‘follows the adventures of Ellian, the tenacious princess who must go on a daring quest to save her family and kingdom after a mysterious spell transforms her parents, the King and Queen of Lumbria, into monsters,’ per IMDB.   

Zegler revealed that she recorded music for the film inside the attic of her childhood home. 

‘It was the pandemic. That was the real reason,’ she explained to Seth. ‘And it was just one of those things where I was asked by [composer] Alan Menken and his team to just come in and do scratch vocals.’ 

Zegler then revealed that the tape ‘is being used to teach future casting directors at NYU. And when they asked me for that, I was like, “Is it a good example or a bad example?”‘; seen in October in NYC

‘Which is just so he can hear the music out loud, see where it fits in the story. And there was no promise of getting the part and getting to do the movie at all.’ 

Rachel added, ‘So when I ended up getting asked to do it about two years later…I was working on that music for so long, but there are songs in the final cut of the movie that were recorded in my childhood home in my attic.’

During the interview, Rachel stunned in a rose-printed, taffeta bandeau top as well as a matching pleated skirt from the Spring/Summer 2025 Michael Kors collection. 

The star’s long, dark locks were parted in the middle, and effortlessly flowed down straight past her shoulders.  

Her latest appearance comes shortly after she took to her Instagram stories following the results of the 2024 presidential election to slam those who had voted for Donald Trump – saying that she hopes they ‘never know peace.’ 

Rachel later followed up her previous comments with an apology and added, ‘I let my emotions get the best of me.’

‘Hatred and anger have caused us to move further and further away from peace and understanding, and I am sorry I contributed to the negative discourse.’

The actress also wrote that she ‘firmly believes that everyone has the right to their opinion, even when it differs from my own. I am committed to contributing positively toward a better tomorrow.’

In the animated film, Rachel was joined by other cast members including Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, John Lithgow, Jenifer Lewis and Jordan Fisher; seen earlier this month with Kidman and Bardem in NYC 

A source recently told DailyMail.com that Zegler was nearly cut from Disney’s Snow White live-action adaptation by executives. 

‘They would love to be able to tell her to stop talking, but it is simply too late. They had talked about removing Rachel from the role several times when it was shooting in 2022.’ 

‘She is a loose cannon and caused issues during the production because she didn’t agree with how the film plot strayed from the classic movie’s plot,’ the insider added. 

‘She read the script. If she didn’t like it then she should have not taken it. It wasn’t until after the film was wrapped that she really started creating drama.’

The source continued that, ‘She has been a nightmare but there is nothing they can do to control what she says. Everyone is well-aware of how difficult she is. ‘

‘Right now, it is way too late to shelve the film. As much as people think that her recent comments and controversies will hurt the film, it is not likely the case.’

‘If anything, it generates more publicity and attention to the film, which leads to increased ticket sales. The film is Snow White, and it could really sell with anyone in the lead.’

Last year, Rachel notably received public backlash after she slammed the original 1937 Snow White film. 

She was cast as Snow White in the upcoming, Disney live-action remake which is set to hit theaters next year on March 21, 2025.

Her latest appearance comes shortly after she took to her Instagram stories following the results of the 2024 presidential election to slam those who had voted for Donald Trump – saying that she hopes they ‘never know peace’

In one interview, Zegler had revealed that the new film would be going in a different direction and said of the character of Snow White: ‘She’s not going to be saved by the prince and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love.’

The star also faced backlash when she was first cast as Snow White as a Latina actress.

In response to the negative reception, Rachel penned in a since-deleted post: ‘yes i am snow white no i am not bleaching my skin for the role (sic).’

And in May, Rachel reflected on having a ‘hard year’ while celebrating her 23rd birthday – after she was slammed as ‘woke’ for ‘hating’ the original Disney film.

A source recently told DailyMail.com that Zegler was nearly cut from Disney’s Snow White live-action adaptation by executives

Late last month during an interview with Cosmopolitan, Zegler claimed people screamed profanities at her over her casting in Snow White. 

‘They were showing up at my apartment and screaming profanities,’ she expressed to the outlet. 

In regards to the controversy, the actress said, ‘it got to a point where it was not funny anymore and I really hated myself for something that other people were telling me about myself.’ 

‘But my ability to bounce back from that and still be pᴀssionate about the work I did for that project is something that I admire about myself.’