“If SHE can tumble down the rabbit hole as Alice, why can’t I climb the tower as the ultimate Rapunzel? 😏”

Bella Ramsey just dropped a mic on Hollywood’s latest fairy tale drama—hours after Sabrina Carpenter snagged the lead in that glossy Alice in Wonderland musical, the Game of Thrones breakout fired off this shady gem on X. But wait… it gets juicier. Sources whisper Bella didn’t stop at the tweet. She straight-up DM’d Disney execs with a ballsy pitch that’ll have you screaming “ICONIC” or “AUDACITY?”

Is this the glow-up we didn’t know we needed? Or a diva clash brewing in Tinseltown? Click the link below to uncover the full tea—because one thing’s for sure: these two are about to rewrite the rules of wonderland… and we’re here for the fallout. 👀🪢

In the ever-twirling carousel of Hollywood casting controversies, few moments capture the raw ambition—and occasional pettiness—of young stars clawing for their spotlight quite like Bella Ramsey’s latest outburst. Just days after pop sensation Sabrina Carpenter was crowned the new Alice in a high-profile musical adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s timeless tale, Ramsey, the 22-year-old firebrand best known for her gritty turn as Ellie in HBO’s The Last of Us, unleashed a pointed barb that has social media ablaze and Disney insiders scrambling.

“If she can play Alice, then I could be the Best Rapunzel ever,” Ramsey posted on X late Friday night, her words laced with a mix of defiance and dry wit that fans have come to adore. The tweet, which has since racked up over 500,000 likes and sparked a torrent of memes, arrived mere hours after Universal Pictures confirmed Carpenter’s starring role—and producing credit—in director Lorene Scafaria’s upcoming Alice in Wonderland musical. But Ramsey, never one to let a slight simmer quietly, didn’t stop at the keyboard. Multiple sources close to the production tell this outlet exclusively that the British actress reached out directly to Disney producers over the weekend, pitching herself unapologetically for the lead in the Mouse House’s long-rumored live-action Tangled remake.

It’s a move that’s equal parts bold and eyebrow-raising, thrusting Ramsey into the center of a brewing starlet showdown that’s already pitting Gen-Z icons against each other in the court of public opinion. As whispers of “feud” echo across TikTok and Reddit threads, the incident underscores the cutthroat realities of adapting beloved childhood stories for a modern audience—one where age, image, and outright hustle can make or break a career.

To understand the spark, one must rewind to the announcement that lit the fuse. On November 11, Universal dropped the bombshell: Sabrina Carpenter, the 26-year-old blonde bombshell whose tour for her 2025 Grammy-nominated album Man’s Best Friend sold out arenas worldwide, would not only star as Alice but also produce the film alongside heavy-hitters like Marc Platt (Wicked) and Alloy Entertainment. The project, a vibrant musical reimagining of Carroll’s 1865 novel, promises to blend the psychedelic whimsy of the 1951 Disney animated classic with the edge of Tim Burton’s 2010 live-action hit, which grossed over $1 billion globally. Scafaria, fresh off helming the campy Hustlers with Jennifer Lopez, is penning the script and directing, aiming for a release sometime in late 2027.

Carpenter’s casting was hailed by many as a natural fit. The former Disney Channel darling, who rose to fame as the sassy Maya Hart on Girl Meets World, brings a proven pedigree in both song and screen. Her Netflix rom-coms like Work It and Tall Girl showcased her bubbly charisma, while her chart-topping singles—”Espresso” from 2024’s Short n’ Sweet and the sultry “Manchild” from this year’s follow-up—prove she’s got the pipes for a Wonderland tea party that could rival Wicked‘s box-office sorcery. “Sabrina embodies that curious, fearless energy Alice needs,” gushed one insider. “She’s not just falling down rabbit holes; she’s building empires.”

Yet, for all the fairy dust sprinkled on Carpenter’s triumph, it came at a perceived cost to her dream gig: Rapunzel. Back in April 2025, rumors swirled that Disney had eyed the singer for the titular tower-trapped princess in a live-action Tangled, the 2010 animated smash that blended Rapunzel’s tale of isolation and rebellion with a heist-like adventure, voiced originally by Mandy Moore. Fans on Reddit’s r/disneyprincess subreddit debated fiercely, with some praising Carpenter’s golden locks and pop-star swagger as perfect for the “quirky, silly, sweet girl” archetype, while others balked at her more mature, “raunchy” image—citing lyrics about heartbreak and hookups that clash with Disney’s family-friendly sheen. “She’s sexualizing herself to escape the Disney mold,” one user lamented in a thread that garnered over 450 upvotes. Carpenter herself has been mum on the Rapunzel chatter, but her pivot to Universal’s Alice suggests the House of Mouse may have passed, leaving a vacancy that’s now got Ramsey knocking—loudly.

Enter Bella Ramsey, the unfiltered underdog who’s built a cult following on authenticity over airbrushed perfection. At 22, the actress has evolved from the wide-eyed Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones to the knife-wielding survivor in The Last of Us, earning an Emmy nod and a legion of fans who see her as the anti-Hollywood ingenue. Short-haired, androgynous, and outspoken on issues like climate change and LGBTQ+ rights, Ramsey has long chafed against typecasting. In a 2024 Variety interview, she lamented the “princess drought” for non-traditional leading ladies, joking that she’d “trade zombies for a tiara any day.” Her tweet about Carpenter wasn’t just shade; it was a manifesto. “Alice is all curiosity and chaos—Sabrina’s got that in spades,” Ramsey elaborated in a follow-up post that was quickly deleted amid backlash. “But Rapunzel? That’s me. Locked away, plotting my escape, frying pans as weapons. If they’re handing out fairy tales, deal me in.”

The direct outreach to Disney, confirmed by two production sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, reportedly came via email to key executives at Walt Disney Pictures, including Sean Bailey, president of production. Ramsey’s pitch, described as “passionate but professional,” highlighted her dramatic chops and suggested a grittier take on Rapunzel—one infused with the isolation themes from The Last of Us, perhaps nodding to the character’s 18-year tower imprisonment as a metaphor for modern mental health struggles. “Bella sees Rapunzel not as a damsel, but as a warrior poet,” one source revealed. “She’s offering to sing, act, and even co-write songs if it means bringing something fresh to the table.” Disney has yet to respond publicly, but insiders say the studio is “intrigued” by the unsolicited energy, especially as Tangled‘s live-action script, penned by Encanto‘s Jared Bush, inches toward greenlight.

The fallout has been swift and savage. Carpenter’s die-hards, dubbed “Carpets” on X, flooded Ramsey’s mentions with accusations of jealousy, one viral thread amassing 2,000 replies under the hashtag #NotMyRapunzel. “Sabrina turned down Disney princess vibes to own her narrative—Bella’s just salty she can’t,” tweeted fan account @SabrinaStan4Life, echoing sentiments from a PinkNews op-ed that praised Carpenter’s queer-inclusive edge for a story ripe for modern twists. Meanwhile, Ramsey’s supporters rallied with #BellaForRapunzel, sharing edits of her in flowing gowns wielding frying pans, and pointing to her vocal training from Catherine Called Birdy as proof she’d slay the musical numbers. Comedian Chelsea Handler even weighed in, posting a clip from The Last of Us captioned, “From infected to enchanted—Disney, what are you waiting for?”

Critics, however, see darker undercurrents. Hollywood watchers like Perez Hilton argue the spat exposes the “mean girls” mentality still plaguing young female stars, reminiscent of the Zendaya vs. Vanessa Hudgens Disney alumni dust-ups of yore. “It’s not about talent; it’s about scarcity,” Hilton wrote in his latest newsletter. “With only so many blonde-banged roles to go around, someone’s always climbing over the next.” Age factors in too—Carpenter at 26 edges out the traditional teen Alice, while Ramsey’s 22 aligns better with Rapunzel’s youthful vigor, though both draw flak for “aging up” icons originally penned for children. Feminists on TikTok have split camps: some hail Ramsey’s push as empowering disruption, others decry it as undermining Carpenter’s hard-won win.

Zooming out, this isn’t just tabloid tittle-tattle; it’s a microcosm of Disney’s live-action gold rush. Since The Lion King roared to $1.6 billion in 2019, the studio has churned out remakes of Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and Snow White (starring Rachel Zegler, another controversy magnet), banking billions while weathering backlash over “unnecessary” updates and diversity debates. Tangled, with its feminist undertones and box-office haul of $592 million worldwide, has long been eyed for the treatment, but delays due to strikes and script tweaks have left it in development purgatory. Enter players like Ramsey, whose non-conforming vibe could inject the queer-coded longing of Rapunzel’s story with fresh relevance—think a tower symbolizing gender dysphoria or artistic suppression.

Carpenter’s Alice, by contrast, lands at Universal, a rival keen on poaching Disney’s thunder. The film’s budget is eyed at $150 million, with Platt’s track record suggesting a blockbuster trajectory. Scafaria’s vision, per leaks to The Hollywood Reporter, amps up the absurdity with original songs tackling Carroll’s nonsense as allegory for today’s social media rabbit holes—timely, given Carpenter’s own battles with online trolls post her Barry Keoghan romance saga. Will it outgross Burton’s? Early buzz says yes, especially if Carpenter channels her Short n’ Sweet sass into the Mad Hatter’s tea party.

As for Ramsey, her gambit could pay off big. Disney’s history of rewarding audacious outreach is storied—think Billy Porter’s Cinderella fairy godmother coup. But risks loom: if rebuffed, it could paint her as the interloper in a narrative she’s already half-written herself into. Sources say her team, including WME agents, is bracing for fallout, even floating a Last of Us Season 2 promo tie-in to soften the edges. “Bella’s not afraid of the clickbait,” a rep told us. “She’s afraid of being forgotten.”

In the end, this clash of wonderlands highlights a truth as old as Carroll’s white rabbit: ambition makes haste, and in Hollywood’s hall of mirrors, every role is a reflection of the one that got away. Will Ramsey scale that tower, or will Carpenter’s rabbit hole swallow the drama whole? As production ramps up on both fronts, one thing’s certain—fairy tales are no longer for the faint of heart. Fans, grab your popcorn; the unbirthday party is just getting started.