Rachel Zegler's Red Carpet Exchange Leaves Reporter Blown Away

One reporter had a wholesome interaction with Hunger Games star Rachel Zegler on the red carpet.

Claire Rowden, of MTV UK, was on duty interviewing Zegler and other cast members of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.

A prequel to the the original Hunger Games series, the new movie will hit theaters on November 17 and stars Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird, a female tribute from District 12.

rachel mcadams on the red carpet
Rachel Zegler attends "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes" world premiere on November 09, 2023 in London, England. She had a heartwarming interaction with a reporter on the red carpet. Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images Europe

Rowden teased her junket interview with Zegler on TikTok, but then got some wonderful feedback from the actress after bumping into her on the red carpet at the film's world premiere on November 9 in London.

In the TikTok, Rowden is smiling happily towards the camera as text above her reads, "interviewed the cast of the Hunger Games today and at the end of the interview Rachel Zegler said 'that was wonderful'."

@claire.rowden

What a day 😭😭😭 interview coming soon to mtvuk!!! I love this cast and this movie 🤍🤍🤍 #thehungergames #thehungergamestheballedofsongbirds #rachelzegler #tomblyth #tbosas #theballadofsongbirdsandsnakes

♬ original sound - tbosasedits

On the red carpet Zegler revealed she had seen TikTok and ]"loved it."

"It was very sweet," she told Rowden "You did such a great job. I was so impressed," she added about the junket interview.

"It was awesome. Well done, you're doing great babe."

Rowden shared that interaction to X, formerly Twitter.

"just the kindest words an interviewer can hear 🥹 excited to share our chat super soon 🫶@rachelzegler. you will always have a fan in me 🤍" Rowden captioned the post.

Newsweek reached out to Rowden by email for comment.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes also stars Tom Blyth, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera, Jason Schwartzman, and Viola Davis.

It is based on the novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins and is set 64 years before the original movie, which starred Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth.

In the new film, the post-apocalyptic nation of Panem is still rebuilding from a brutal civil war, marred by endless construction sites, cranes and the remnants of destruction, with the set being modeled after post-war Berlin.

"Are we worthy of freedom? Are we unable to handle freedom? What is the allure of authoritarianism? Why are people drawn to surrendering control to the government? And what makes a person want to have that kind of control?" producer Nina Jacobson said of the questions the film poses.

Zegler rose to fame in Steven Spielberg's remake of the classic musical West Side Story and will next be seen playing the iconic Snow White in the upcoming Disney live-action movie.

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more

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