Gal Gadot is taking another bite of the poison apple and continuing to talk about Snow White‘s box office failure, particularly, yup, October 7’s role in the flop. Over the weekend, comments Gadot made to an Israeli interviewer went viral. She said, “I was positive the movie was going to be a huge hit. And then October 7 happened.” It probably isn’t advisable to explain a Disney remake’s failure with “And then October 7 happened,” but that’s what happened. However, more recently, Gadot attempted to clarify her statements on Instagram Stories, saying that she answered “from an emotional place.”
“When the film came out, I felt that those who are against Israel criticized me in a very personal, almost visceral way,” she wrote. “They saw me first and foremost as an Israeli, not as an actress. That’s the perspective I spoke from.”
“The film didn’t fail solely because of external pressures. There are many factors that determine why a film succeeds or fails, and success is never guaranteed.”
Here are her full comments (per Hollywood Reporter):
“I was honored to join an extraordinary interview with inspiring interviewers, whose questions go straight to the heart. Sometimes we respond to questions from an emotional place. When the film came out, I felt that those who are against Israel criticized me in a very personal, almost visceral way. They saw me first and foremost as an Israeli, not as an actress. That’s the perspective I spoke from when I answered the question. Of course, the film didn’t fail solely because of external pressures. There are many factors that determine why a film succeeds or fails, and success is never guaranteed …”
Would it have been so hard to say the dwarfs looked bad? But we digress. Namely, because much of the blowback toward the film surrounded her co-star, Rachel Zegler, who became a culture war target well before release. Such viral moments of Facebook outrage included the pearl-clutching surrounding her joking that Prince Charming “stalks” Snow White and posting “free Palestine” on Instagram. Two weeks after the movie bombed, a Variety report dropped the blame at Zegler’s feet, framing her concern for Gazans, who are currently enduring a famine among many other alleged war crimes, as the reason for the film’s failure.
Nevertheless, in Gadot’s original sentiments, she said she “really had fun. Even working alongside Rachel Zegler. We laughed and we talked.” Still, it’s a little rich to hear Gadot say there was “a lot of pressure put on celebrities, actors, creators to post against Israel” when posting against Israel can get you arrested and deported.
Here are Gadot’s full comments from the talk show:
“I really enjoyed filming that movie, I really had fun. Even working alongside Rachel Zegler. We laughed and we talked, we had fun. I was positive the movie was going to be a huge hit. And then Oct. 7 happened, and what happened all over in different industries, not just Hollywood, there was a lot of pressure put on celebrities, actors, creators to post against Israel. And it happened. I can always explain and try to give people in the world context about the situation and the reality in Israel, and I always do that. But at the end, people make up their own minds. And I was disappointed that the movie was incredibly affected by all of that and that it didn’t do well at the box office. But it is what it is, you win some, you lose some.”
