Gal Gadot admits her star-studded 'Imagine' video 'was in poor taste'


Almost two years later, a video of celebrities singing "Imagine" early on in the COVID-19 pandemic is still the subject of frequent mockery — and Gal Gadot agrees it was in "poor taste."
The Wonder Woman star spoke with InStyle for a story published Tuesday, and she reflected on her now infamous Instagram video in which she and other celebrities like Kristen Wiig covered the John Lennon song "Imagine" as the COVID-19 pandemic was first hitting the United States in March 2020. Gadot wrote in the caption, "We are in this together, we will get through it together." But the video was widely panned at the time by those who viewed it as being out of touch.
Speaking with InStyle, Gadot looked back at the controversy, noting that she called Wiig and decided to put the video together because she "was seeing where everything was headed" with the COVID-19 pandemic.
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"But [the video] was premature," Gadot added. "It wasn't the right timing, and it wasn't the right thing. It was in poor taste. All pure intentions, but sometimes you don't hit the bull's-eye, right?"
To this day, the "Imagine" video continues to draw ridicule and is often used as a punchline; a popular Letterboxd review of Adam McKay's climate change satire Don't Look Up panned it as being like "if the Gal Gadot 'Imagine' video was 3 hours long." Gadot previously spoke about the video with Vanity Fair, saying, "I started it, and I can only say that I meant to do something good and pure, and it didn't transcend."
Gadot reportedly poked fun at the controversy by self-deprecatingly singing "Imagine" at an awards ceremony in October, and she told InStyle this was a "delightful opportunity" to "take the air out of" the situation because "I don't take myself too seriously."
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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