Rachel Zegler has ignited a fresh wave of online discussion following her peculiar posing at the 2026 Met Gala, leaving many viewers puzzled. The 25-year-old Snow White star attended fashion's premier event on Monday in a dramatic Atelier Prabal Gurung gown accessorized with a custom silk blindfold mask by Jennifer Behr. Zegler later confirmed that her ensemble was inspired by French painter Paul Delaroche's 1833 artwork The Execution of Lady Jane Grey, which portrays the doomed queen just before her beheading after being convicted of high treason in 1554.
While the theatrical outfit itself drew attention, it was Zegler's facial expressions on the red carpet that quickly became the main talking point online. Videos circulating on X showed the actress repeatedly jutting her jaw forward and grinding it from side to side while posing for photographers outside New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art. The movements immediately sparked confusion among viewers, with some questioning whether she was embodying a specific character or artistic concept, or if there was a medical issue.
'WTH is she doing?' one baffled viewer wrote. Another added: 'Why is Rachel Zegler moving her mouth like that…' Others were more blunt, with a post stating: 'This is not normal behavior.' A separate user commented: 'What is actually wrong with her face? Does she do this on purpose?' Meanwhile, another viewer joked: 'I genuinely want to believe there was a concept behind this ???'
However, not everyone was critical. Several fans defended the star, arguing that the unusual expressions were intentionally tied to the evening's costume-inspired theme. 'She's posing for pictures and showing her best face poses. No need to make more of it than what it is,' one person argued. Another wrote: 'It's part of the look, I guess.' One particularly passionate defense claimed critics were missing the artistic point entirely. 'I don't want to be in a position of defending these people, but you appear ignorant with this critique,' they wrote. 'The theme was "costumes." She has a corset facing the incorrect way and a blindfold with anguished facial expressions to exemplify the juxtaposition between wearing a beautiful costume and the pain it requires.'
Zegler has become an increasingly divisive figure online over the past year following backlash surrounding Disney's live-action Snow White remake, which was engulfed in controversy before its release. Comments she made during promotion—including criticism of the original animated classic and discussions about modernizing the princess character—sparked intense culture-war debates, making her a frequent target for social media discourse. As a result, even minor red carpet moments now tend to generate outsized reactions, with the Met Gala appearance quickly becoming another opportunity for her detractors to criticize her.
Still, some fans seemed more amused than outraged by the entire incident. One user summed up the internet's confusion by writing simply: 'She's an underbite queen, end of story. Next!'
