Culture

Gal Gadot Knows You Hated Her Cringeworthy ‘Imagine’ Video, But She Doesn’t Really Care

“Sometimes, you know, you try and do a good deed and it’s just not the right good deed."

by Michelle Rennex  14 October 2020
Gal gadot imagine

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At the start of the pandemic back in March, we were all forced to endure the painfully tone-deaf celeb-packed ‘Imagine’ video thanks to Gal Gadot.

Gathering some of her very rich friends in their very lavish homes as normal people faced COVID-19 and pandemic-related unemployment, Gal Gadot thought that singing John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s ‘Imagine’ would be what everyone wanted. Spoiler alert: It wasn’t.

Joined by celebrities like Kristen Wiig, Sia, Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon, Jamie Dornan, and Amy Adams, among many others, Gadot originally explained that she shared the video after “feeling a bit philosophical”.

“It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from, we’re all in this together,” the Wonder Woman actress said. “We will get through it together. Let’s imagine together.”

Famously, ‘Imagine’ is actually a song about unity and equality that calls for people to do things like “imagine no possessions”. So, as expected, Gal Gadot’s video was immediately met with criticism as people mocked these 26 oblivious celebrities –who have an estimated collective net worth of half a billion dollars — for offering nothing but their off-key singing while the rest of the world suffered.

Other celebrities joined in on the pile on too and took the piss out of the whole thing, like John Mayer did with his skit about accidentally singing along to Ariana Grande’s ‘Imagine’ instead of Lennon’s version.

The ridicule got so bad that Chris O’Dowd, one of the actors who starred in the cursed video, even felt the need to address why he took part in the video in the first place back in June. While on BBC’s ‘Grounded’ podcast, O’Dowd explained that he only participated after his Bridesmaid co-star, Kristen Wiig, reached out and he assumed it was a quick little thing for charity.

“I presumed it was for kids. I know that Gal works for UNICEF, so I presumed it was a charity thing,” O’Dowd said.

Now with fresh perspective,during an interview with Vanity Fair, Gadot shared that while she understands why the video wasn’t received in the way she intended it to, she does not apologise for making it.

“Sometimes, you know, you try and do a good deed and it’s just not the right good deed,” the actress 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 it, and I can only say that I meant to do something good and pure, and it didn’t transcend,” Gadot continued.

Despite the world not agreeing with Gal Gadot’s approach to helping out during the pandemic, the actress shared that she would rather face backlash for what she does than not “say her truth”.

“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,” Gadot said. “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,” Gal Gadot concluded.

So, there you have it. Who knows what terrible celebrity rendition of a song we’re going to be forced to listen to next? The options truly are limitless.