I know that I’ve covered her before, but since the internet loves using her as a punching bag, I figured it was only fair. Especially with The DCEU being virtually dead, as well as her role as Wonder Woman now being up in the air. Essentially, Gal Gadot, the Israeli who ended up becoming a household name because she was one of DC’s big three, may or may not be playing the character anymore. I don’t know. That hasn’t stopped people from talking about her like she’s a minion for The Antichrist, however!
I’ll begin with how people bash her Israeli background. More-specifically, being an IDF combat instructor, even though being in The IDF is mandatory for Israelis after high school. I could go on forever about how singling her out is ridiculous, as so many celebrities in Hollywood have served in The US military, but it’d be flogging a dead horse. Especially since no one would listen.
That hasn’t stopped people from pointing it out for no reason. So many tabloids and discussions surrounding her zone-in on her IDF background. It’s exhausting. It’s especially exhausting when that’s used to discredit her as an actress. Most-recently, it even happened in a Pop Tingz headline:
“Zionist, Gal Gadot, reportedly lied about James Gunn & Peter Safran telling her she was ‘in the best hands’ and had ‘nothing to worry about’ when it came to her upcoming Wonder Woman movie. James Gunn said the meeting never happened.”
Ignoring that this headline caused a storm, it’s objectively-awful. For one, why use “Zionist” as modifier? Two, way to gaslight her. Three, there are two strikes happening in Hollywood right now, so I don’t trust anything that isn’t 100% confirmed. And four, the headline’s poorly-phrased, having an unnecessary comma after “Zionist”, and “Zionist” could be removed altogether without impacting anything. In fact, I’ll rephrase it myself:“Gal Gadot recounted James Gun & Peter Safran telling her she was ‘in the best hands’ and had ‘nothing to worry about’ when it came to her upcoming Wonder Woman movie, even though Gunn has stated he never met with her.”
It’d be easy to chalk this bias against Israel and Israeli-related stories to Pop Tingz’s founder being Lebanese, but it’s not relevant; after all, if Keanu Reeves and Brigitte Gabriel are also Lebanese, then clearly they’re as diverse as they come. Besides, it’s racist. That doesn’t mean I’m ignoring how Pop Tingz does this only for Israel. It’d be hilarious if it weren’t Antisemitic. And let’s not pretend otherwise, okay? Moving on.
I also wouldn’t be as annoyed if this didn’t have ripple effects. While Pop Tingz might’ve said the quiet part out loud, I hear and see plenty of similar remarks regularly. I also see remarks that have no foundation, including her “inability to act” (which isn’t true), her “lack of screen presence” (which isn’t true either), and her “being difficult to work with” (which I’ve yet to see a source for). Then there’s her “refusal to apologize for being a Zionist”, which I don’t get: she’s not allowed to express concern and pride for Israel? That’s a crime?! Since when?!
This is the what Gadot has to deal with regularly. I’m not even her biggest fan! Not only is she not on my Top 50 favourite Hollywood celebrities list, but I’m still not happy with her “Imagine” video from 2020. I also find that she, like many celebrities, can be superficial. However, attacking her for being Israeli’s ridiculous and unfair. Especially since you’d have to criticize Natalie Portman, Ayelet Zurer and Shira Haas too. And that’s only scratching the surface!
Really and truly, this is why the internet sucks. It’s bad enough that Warner Bros. Discovery and DC are a mess because of The DCEU without playing “he said, she said” and being dishonest. Gal Gadot might “suck”. She might even “suck” as much as most celebrities, I don’t know her personally. But that’s no excuse for Antisemitism. Gadot being Israeli has as much to do with her as Adam Driver being a former marine. Or Dwayne Johnson being a former Republican. It’s a footnote, not their whole persona. And it’s not something worth constantly bringing up like some kind of “gotcha!”.
It especially bugs me because it’s an example of how the internet thinks of Israelis, or “Zionists”, as cartoon characters. Like all Earthlings, they’re far more diverse than that. Even Israel itself, while no saint, is no more awful than other countries. It isn’t even as awful as The US, a country it’s allies with. By thinking of Israelis this way, you end up with headlines like the one from Pop Tingz, ones that aren’t even that clever. (I’d say all of the above about Palestinians too, but that’s a whole other piece.)
Really and truly, this is why the internet sucks. It’s bad enough that Warner Bros. Discovery and DC are a mess because of The DCEU without playing “he said, she said” and being dishonest. Gal Gadot might “suck”. She might even “suck” as much as most celebrities, I don’t know her personally. But that’s no excuse for Antisemitism. Gadot being Israeli has as much to do with her as Adam Driver being a former marine. Or Dwayne Johnson being a former Republican. It’s a footnote, not their whole persona. And it’s not something worth constantly bringing up like some kind of “gotcha!”.
It especially bugs me because it’s an example of how the internet thinks of Israelis, or “Zionists”, as cartoon characters. Like all Earthlings, they’re far more diverse than that. Even Israel itself, while no saint, is no more awful than other countries. It isn’t even as awful as The US, a country it’s allies with. By thinking of Israelis this way, you end up with headlines like the one from Pop Tingz, ones that aren’t even that clever. (I’d say all of the above about Palestinians too, but that’s a whole other piece.)
But yeah, don’t be like Pop Tingz regarding Gal Gadot. It’s not worth it, trust me!
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