The famed “Imagine” video, the one with overly-sincere and quickly-mocked performances from Jimmy Fallon, Mark Ruffalo, and Natalie Portman, seems like it came out four years ago. But nope, Gal Gadot shared the “celebs are at it again” clip in mid-March, and shockingly, the John Lennon cover did not cure COVID-19. In a new interview with Vanity Fair, the Wonder Wonder 1984 explained why she asked her famous friends to sing “Imagine” with her, and the subsequent backlash.
“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,” Gadot said. “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.” I believe Gadot meant well with the video (maybe if she picked a better, less-covered John Lennon song?), but it’s a case of a famous and rich person not reading the room — the backlash to her being cast as Cleopatra in director Patty Jenkins’ historical epic isn’t helping, either.
As for Wonder Woman 1984, Gadot loves the opening scene featuring a younger version of her character, which “always get [me] teary — like good, excited tears,” she said. “One of the biggest things that I believe is that you can only dream about becoming someone or something after you’ve seen it visually. And for boys — lucky them — they got to experience, since the beginning of the movies, that they were the protagonist, they were the strong ones, they saved the day. But we didn’t get this representation. And I think it’s so important… to show them the potential of what they can be.”
Wonder Woman 1984 opens on December 25.
(Via Vanity Fair)