Controversial Evita actress Rachel Zegler has been called out by Dave Benson Phillips for leaving his son ‘most upset’ after he was refused an autograph.
The children’s entertainer, 60, said that his son was first in the queue at the stage door on Tuesday night but was blocked from meeting Ms Zegler or obtaining her signature.
Benson Phillips said all his 15-year-old son Benjamin wanted was to ‘tell her how much he liked her performance and get an autograph’.
But he was told by ‘a rather officious security man’ that only those with a ticket for show on the day could see the Snow White actress.
The CBBC star had been to the popular musical three weeks earlier with his son.
They had returned on Tuesday to watch the famous balcony scene which sees Zegler perform a rendition of Don’t Cry For Me Argentina to the public outside the London Palladium.
Controversial Evita actress Rachel Zegler has been called out by Dave Benson Phillips for leaving his son ‘most upset’ after he was refused an autograph
Zegler attracted criticism earlier this year when she starred in the woke remake of Disney’s Snow White which flopped at the box office
Benson Phillips said all his 15-year-old son Benjamin wanted was to ‘tell her how much he liked her performance and get an autograph’
Benson Phillips added: ‘We know how valuable her time is, it just would’ve been a lovely way to end his summer holiday before going back to school.
‘The security man’s final words were, “you had your chance”.’
‘He let most of the others stay, despite them also having seen a previous show which seemed very unfair on our son.
‘Others also then turned up who clearly hadn’t seen the show and he didn’t stop them.’
He added: ‘As parents, we try and do the best we can for our children… oh well.’
It is not known if Zegler was present during Benson Phillips altercation with the Palladium security guard.
Representatives for Rachel Zegler and the London Palladium have been contacted for comment.
Zegler has been critically praised for her performance in the Andrew Lloyd-Webber musical which tells the story of Argentinian politician Eva Peron.
The Mail gave the production five stars and said of its lead: ‘The 5ft 2in, 24-year-old Zegler may be a diminutive diva, but with a delicate yet rich voice, she takes to the role of the Latin American political idol like a pair of Ferragamo shoes.’
The actress has also found love with a backing dancer in the hit show.
She and Nathan Fernard, 27, a former stripper in Magic Mike Live, have been spotted on a number of dates around the capital.
The new couple are believed to have first met during rehearsals, which began in April for Jamie Lloyd’s adaptation of the musical.
The lovers have spent weekends away with one another, with the rest of the Evita cast, as Rachel has grown very close to them.
She attracted criticism earlier this year when she starred in the woke remake of Disney’s Snow White which flopped at the box office.
On Instagram, where Rachel boasts 2.5 million followers and new boyfriend, Nathan Louis-Fernand, have taken to calling one another ‘the darling girl’ and ‘the darling man’
Zegler said her character was ‘not going to be saved by the prince. She’s not going to be dreaming about true love. She’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be’, when she spoke at the Disney expo last year.
‘She’s dreaming about becoming the leader that her late father told her she could be if she was fearless, fair, brave and true,’ she later gushed to Variety.
Zegler has also criticised David Hand’s 1937 original animated film as ‘extremely dated when it comes to the ideas of women being in roles of power’ and admitted she has only seen it once.
‘The original cartoon came out in 1937, and very evidently so,’ she told Extra TV in 2022.
‘There’s a big focus on her love story with a guy who literally stalks her. Weird. So we didn’t do that this time.
‘We have a different approach to what I’m sure a lot of people will assume is a love story just because we cast a guy in the movie.’
Zegler’s pro-Palestine stance also proved problematic for Disney bosses, with reports that they repeatedly called her and her agents to try to get her to tone down her social media posts on the issue.
