Gal Gadot Responds to ‘Imagine’ Video Backlash: ‘I Had Nothing But Good Intentions’

Gal Gadot is sharing her response to her infamous “Imagine” video, which went viral at the start of the coronavirus pandemic’s spread in the United States back in March. In the new November issue of Vanity Fair, the Wonder Woman actress defended her intentions as good, despite criticisms that the video was cringe-worthy and out-of-touch.

“Sometimes, you know, you try and do a good deed and it’s just not the right good deed,” Gadot says in the new profile. “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.” The video, which was published on Gadot’s Instagram account, featured cameos from Natalie Portman, Jimmy Fallon, Zoë Kravitz, Will Ferrell, Amy Adams, James Marsden, Mark Ruffalo, Sarah Silverman, Sia, Maya Rudolph and more, who all joined in to sing one line of the John Legend song “Imagine.”

“I started with a few friends, and then I spoke to Kristen [Wiig],” Gadot told Vanity Fair. “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.”

Gadot said at the time the video published she had been “feeling a bit philosophical” while in quarantine, but her gesture was met with skepticism from people who thought the stars involved should have donated to COVID-19 aid instead of singing a song on Instagram. The Red Notice actress noted in the new interview that she won’t be apologizing for the video, despite the backlash. “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,” she explained of her reaction. “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.”

Gadot has had a number of her video’s participants attempt to defend her, including Fifty Shades of Grey star Jamie Dornan, who said in April on the Tea With Me podcast that Gadot was “trying to do a good thing,” but he “just got dragged along with it.” As for what he thought of the response, Dornan answered, “I’ll tell you what the problem was. I literally did mine in the toilet of my house. Quite clearly, some people had escaped to their second home. There’s too much acreage in the background, too many beautiful trees swaying in the background, clearly in front of an ocean, that sort of craic.”