Gal Gadot admits ‘Imagine’ video at start of pandemic was ‘in poor taste’
Israeli Wonder Woman star said the stunt, featuring famous faces including Natalie Portman and Jamie Dornan, was prompted by “pure intentions” but she had not “hit the bullseye”.
Gal Gadot has admitted that the video of herself and celebrity friends singing John Lennon’s Imagine at the start of the coronavirus pandemic was “in poor taste”.
The Wonder Woman star told magazine InStyle the stunt, featuring famous faces including Natalie Portman and Jamie Dornan, was prompted by “pure intentions” but she had not “hit the bullseye”.
In the video, which was viewed more than two million times on Instagram, the Israeli actress explained she has been in isolation for six days and the global crisis had left her feeling “philosophical”.
The 36 year-old then sang the intro to Lennon’s 1971 classic before a host of celebrities took it in turns to sing portions of the song.
Gadot captioned the video: “We are in this together, we will get through it together.”
But the video posted in March 2020, shortly before the first official UK lockdown, was branded as tone deaf on social media.
“The pandemic was in Europe and Israel before it came (to the US) in the same way,” Gadot told InStyle.
“I was seeing where everything was headed. But (the video) was premature. It wasn’t the right timing, and it wasn’t the right thing. It was in poor taste.
“All pure intentions, but sometimes you don’t hit the bull’s-eye.”
Following the backlash Gadot sought to play down the incident, breaking into a rendition of Imagine while accepting a prize at the Elle Women In Hollywood awards.
“It just felt right, and I don’t take myself too seriously,” she said.
“I felt like I wanted to take the air out of it, so that (event) was a delightful opportunity to do that.”
Other celebrities in the video included Sia, Pedro Pascal, Zoe Kravitz, Chris O’Dowd, Leslie Odom Jr, Eddie Benjamin, Ashley Benson, Lynda Carter, Jimmy Fallon, Will Ferrell, Norah Jones, Kaia Gerber, Cara Delevingne, Annie Mumolo, Labrinth and Maya Rudolph.
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