Gal Gadot Addressed the Backlash Against Her Controversial "Imagine" Video

• Gal Gadot spoke to Vanity Fair about her controversial "Imagine" video, released as people began quarantining amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in which a host of celebrities sang the John Lennon track.
• "Sometimes, you know, you try and do a good deed and it’s just not the right good deed," Gadot said.
• "I had nothing but good intentions and it came from the best place," she added.

It may feel simultaneously like yesterday and one million years ago, but cast your mind back, if you can, to March, when Gal Gadot shared a video on Instagram that caused something of a stir online. As quarantine measures were implemented around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gadot organized her celebrity friends for a singalong of John Lennon's "Imagine," posting the result on Instagram with the caption, "We are in this together, we will get through it together. Let’s imagine together. Sing with us." A-listers including Kristen Wiig, Mark Ruffalo, Natalie Portman, Zoë Kravitz, and Cara Delevingne all took part.

The video didn't go down quite as well as Gadot hoped, with the New York Times blasting (opens in new tab) its "horribleness" and "smug self-satisfaction." In a new interview (opens in new tab) with Vanity Fair, Gadot responded to the backlash, and explained the intention behind the video. "Sometimes, you know, you try and do a good deed and it’s just not the right good deed," she said. "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]," she continued. "Everyone loves her, and she brought a bunch of people to the game." Gadot's summary: "But yeah, I started it, and I can only say that I meant to do something good and pure, and it didn’t transcend."