Gal Gadot has responded to criticism of the viral video of herself and other stars singing John Lennon’s Imagine, saying: “I had nothing but good intentions.”
In the video, which she posted on video in March at the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, the Wonder Woman star sang the intro to the 1971 classic before a host of celebrities took it in turns to sing portions of the song – including Natalie Portman, Jamie Dornan, Sia, Pedro Pascal, Zoe Kravitz, Will Ferrell and Norah Jones.
The song was widely lampooned, with Ricky Gervais branding it “awful” in an interview with the BBC, while the New York Times said it was “no heaven”.
Gadot told Vanity Fair: “Sometimes, you know, you try and do a good deed and it’s just not the right good deed.
“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.
“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 that I meant to do something good and pure, and it didn’t transcend.”
Thank you for having me @VanityFair and shooting the cover in one of my favorite places in the world. …Photographed by: Dudi Hasson Makeup by : @naorappelHair by: @sagidahary Styled by: @noa_rennert pic.twitter.com/MdJg86Shvi
— Gal Gadot (@GalGadot) October 13, 2020
Gadot also admitted that her frankness sometimes does not go down well in Hollywood, and said: “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.
“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.”