How Gal Gadot Really Feels About The Imagine Video Controversy
Over three years after the Patty Smith-directed Wonder Woman hit theaters in June 2017, making Israeli actor Gal Gadot a household name, the much-anticipated sequel Wonder Woman 1984 will finally make its debut. While the follow-up DC Universe superhero flick had its fair share of problems on its journey from set to screen, including numerous delays due to concerns over competing with other blockbusters for ticket sales at the box office and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
While Wonder Woman 1984 might not have the type of release the cast and crew of the film initially expected, with simultaneous releases on HBO Max and in physical theaters scheduled for Dec. 25, 2020, it hasn't deterred Gadot from savoring another career milestone. Despite the glowing reviews the Wonder Woman sequel has already received, it seems that the film's anticipated box office success will also have to contend with a controversy Gal Gadot accidentally spurred earlier in 2020, one that the actress has finally begun to fully tackle head-on in order to ensure that both her reputation and the legacy of the Wonder Woman franchise remain intact. Read on after the jump to find out.
Gal Gadot's COVID-related attempt to spread goodwill tremendously backfired
As many might recall, Gal Gadot found herself embroiled in controversy in March 2020 during the first crest of the coronavirus pandemic. The incendiary incident came when Gadot and a slew of other Hollywood A-listers attempted to spread a message of goodwill — one that backfired to a breathtaking degree. The event in question was none other than the now notorious "Imagine" video, in which Gadot, along with celebrities including Will Ferrell, Natalie Portman, Zoë Kravitz, Jamie Dornan, Kristen Wiig, and others joined in for a video sing-along of the famous John Lennon tune.
The video was posted to Gadot's Instagram, making her the main target for detractors. While the video might have been recorded in good faith, the overwhelming consensus of Internet denizens and critics alike deemed otherwise. One March 2020 New York Times article called it a product of "genial naïveté," a tone-deaf project whose participants were led by the "presumption that an empty and profoundly awkward gesture from a passel of celebrities has any meaning whatsoever borders on delusion."
Months later, and only days away from the Dec. 25, 2020 release of Wonder Woman 1984, Gadot herself finally addressed the faux pas, speaking frankly with the Los Angeles Times about the "Imagine" video misstep.
Gal Gadot says sometimes a good deed is not 'the right good deed'
In a Dec. 17, 2020 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Gal Gadot took a moment to directly speak to her role in both making and disseminating the widely panned, celebrity-packed "Imagine" video. Admitting that while it was meant to spark a sense of unity during the first phase of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Gadot acknowledged that it was ultimately the wrong move. "Sometimes you want to do a good deed and it's just not the right good deed," admitted Gadot. "I had the best intentions, and I wanted to share my love and to show that we're in this together and we're all one. And sometimes it just doesn't work."
Despite Gadot's earnest attempt at taking accountability for "Imagine"-gate, it might be too little, too late. On the same day, the Los Angeles Times posted their profile of Gadot, Buzzfeed News released their own rundown of how COVID-19 had a lasting effect on both media and pop culture throughout the course of 2020. A main tenet of the article was how the video represented the chasm between empty gestures of goodwill orchestrated by the uber-privileged elite, celebrities among them, and the struggles of the ordinary public. Buzzfeed writer and critic Elamin Abdelmahmoud referred to it as a "crack that would grow to be a grand canyon between celebrities and the rest of us." So while Gadot's commentary on the fracas might be admirable, for some, it might not be enough.