Gal Gadot speaks on the ‘cringe-worthy’ viral rendition of Imagine she and her A-List pals

In March, Gal Gadot and her celebrity friends were slammed for their rendition of John Lennon’s Imagine while self isolating – with people of the internet branding them ‘out of touch’ for singing about ‘no possessions’ from their mansions.

Seven months later, Gal spoke out about the massive criticism that followed the video’s release in her cover story with Vanity Fair.

The actress, 35, said she only meant to do something that was both good and pure, but admitted that it didn’t transcend.

From the heart: Gal spoke out about the massive criticism that followed the Imagine video’s release in her cover story with Vanity Fair

The actress was joined by Natalie Portman, Zoe Kravitz, Amy Adams and more for the ‘cringe-worthy’ video released in March – at the start of COVID-19 lockdown – with users on Twitter asking ‘How out of touch is this?’

Things all started with good intentions, as Wonder Woman actress Gadot explained in the original video.

She introduced the project saying: ‘Hey guys. Day six in self-quarantine. And I’ve got to say that these past few days got me feeling a bit philosophical.’

‘You know, this virus has affected the entire world, everyone — doesn’t matter who you are, where you are from, we are all in this together.’

The Israeli starlet went on to say she was inspired by a viral video of an Italian man playing trumpet for his neighborhood as the country continues its lockdown.

‘There was something so powerful and pure about this video,’ Gal said before kicking off the excruciating song.

The clip then cut to Kristen Wiig delivering a line, followed by Jamie Dornan, Labrinth, James Marsden and Sarah Silverman. 

The video in questions: In March, Gal Gadot and her celebrity friends were slammed for their rendition of John Lennon's Imagine while self isolating - with people of the internet branding them 'out of touch' for singing about 'no possessions' from their mansions

The video in questions: In March, Gal Gadot and her celebrity friends were slammed for their rendition of John Lennon’s Imagine while self isolating – with people of the internet branding them ‘out of touch’ for singing about ‘no possessions’ from their mansions

During her November 2020 Vanity Fair cover story, Gal said of the video: ‘Sometimes, you know, you try and do a good deed and it’s just not the right good deed. 

She continued: ‘I had nothing but good intentions and it came from the best place, and I just wanted to send light and love to the world.’

The Wonder Woman actress explained how the now infamous rendition of Imagine came to be: ‘I started with a few friends, and then I spoke to Kristen [Wiig].’

‘Kristen is like the mayor of Hollywood. Everyone loves her, and she brought a bunch of people to the game. But yeah, I started it, and I can only say I meant to do something good and pure, and it didn’t transcend.’  

The mother of two spoke about her bluntness: ‘Sometimes it can get me in trouble. There is something that I’ve learned to say, which is, “I don’t disagree with you, but’ – so basically I’m disagreeing with you.’

Adding: ‘So I adapted. I just came to the conclusion: I do me, you do you. I’d rather have you not liking me at this moment than not saying my truth.’

The Vanity Fair writer, Nancy Jo Sales, mentioned that they reached out to Gal for comment on Monday after she was criticized for her upcoming role as Cleopatra with Wonder Woman director directing her in this film as well.

The backlash stemmed from Cleopatra’s heritage; the news drew criticism from social media users who wrongly assumed the Egyptian queen was African and black.

Cleopatra was reportedly ethnically Greek or Persian.

Candid: The mother of two spoke about her bluntness: 'Sometimes it can get me in trouble. There is something that I've learned to say, which is, "I don't disagree with you, but' - so basically I'm disagreeing with you;' pictured February 9, 2020 at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party

Candid: The mother of two spoke about her bluntness: ‘Sometimes it can get me in trouble. There is something that I’ve learned to say, which is, “I don’t disagree with you, but’ – so basically I’m disagreeing with you;’ pictured February 9, 2020 at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party

The Israeli actress also spoke about the impact of playing Wonder Woman to the magazine, including on her own daughter.

Gal, who is mom to Alma, eight, and Maya, three, with husband Jaron Varsano, said that she showed the film to her eldest daughter.

‘She was very excited but she also couldn’t detach from seeing Ima [Ima means mother in Hebrew] battling the bad guys. She said, I can’t watch it! Just forward! She couldn’t bear it. So we skipped the scary parts. But the rest of it she loved, and she is proud of it.’

Wonder Woman returns in December with 1984 and Gal revealed that she excited for the audience to see the next part of the hero’s story.

Hero: The Israeli actress also spoke about the impact of playing Wonder Woman, including on her own daughter; pictured in the film

Hero: The Israeli actress also spoke about the impact of playing Wonder Woman, including on her own daughter; pictured in the film

‘I think the first film was the birth of a hero and this time around we wanted to go deeper in a way. It’s more about the danger in greed, and I think that it’s very relevant to the era that we’re living in nowadays.’

Adding: ‘It feels like everyone is in a race for more, and when you get what you wanted there’s a new bar – and what’s the price? And do we lose ourselves in this crazy marathon?’

Gal said she gets teary eyed when she sees the opening scene of 1984 where actress Lilly Aspell, 12, plays the child version of Wonder Woman and is in a physical contest.

‘One of the biggest things that I believe is that you can only dream about becoming someone or something after you’ve seen it visually. And for boys – lucky them – they got to experience, since the beginning of the movies, that they were the protagonist, they were the strong ones, they saved the days.’ 

Leave a Comment