Gal Gadot Gets Candid About ‘Snow White’ Flop After Rachel Zegler’s ‘Free Palestine’ Comment

Israeli actress Gal Gadot opened up for the first time in a rare, public interview about the box office failure of her film last year, the live action remake of Disney’s “Snow White,” after its lead star and title character Rachel Zegler proclaimed “Free Palestine” on social media.

Gadot, who starred as the Evil Queen in the remake of the 1937 Disney classic, also said she believes “pressure on celebrities to speak out against Israel” ended up “greatly affecting” the film and contributed to its box office flop. The former soldier in the Israel Defense Forces, who is a vocal supporter of the Jewish state and the eighth generation to be born there on her father’s side, made the comments during an appearance last week on the Israeli television show “Special Interview,” where celebrities are asked questions by autistic interviewers, and no question is off-limits. The Keshet 12 show is hosted by Gadot’s friend, Israeli actress Rotem Sela.

Mere days after the trailer for “Snow White” debuted last year, Zegler showed support for the Palestinian cause in a post on X. Gadot never directly responded to Zegler’s tweet at the time, but the son of the film’s producer called Zegler’s comments “immature” and blamed them for the film’s poor reviews. Zegler and Gadot went on separate press tours around the world for the film and at the “Snow White” premiere in Los Angeles, media outlets were not allowed to attend the red carpet to interview the costars. Zegler also did not attend Gadot’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony while the director and producer of “Snow White” both attended.

“Snow White” hit theaters in March 2024 and was reportedly one of Disney’s worst performing live-action remakes in almost a decade, following “Pete’s Dragon” in 2016.

During her Hebrew-language appearance on “Special Interview,” Gadot said she “really enjoyed filming” the movie and even enjoyed working with Zegler. “We laughed, we talked, and it was fun,” she noted.

“I was sure that this movie was going to be a huge success,” Gadot added. “And then Oct. 7, [2023] happened. And what’s happening in all kinds of industries, and also in Hollywood, is that there’s a lot of pressure on celebrities to speak out against Israel. I can always explain and try to give people in the world a context about what’s happening and what the reality is here. And I always do, but in the end, people decide for themselves. I was disappointed that the movie was greatly affected by that and didn’t do well at the box office. But that’s what happened.”

“You win some, you lose some,” Gadot then said in English.

Gadot also talked on “Special Interview” about other topics, such as being “scared to death” when she had a life-threatening brain clot during her pregnancy with her fourth daughter, Ori. She said that Sela and other close girlfriends helped her during her recovery. Gadot also discussed trying to keep her family connected to Israel even while they live in Los Angeles, and other aspects of her career.

She was even asked about her decision to not wear to the Golden Globes in January a pin in solidarity with the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

“I am Israeli. And I am a very, very proud Israeli,” she began by saying in response. At the Golden Globes, I was invited to present an award. And with these things, there are a lot of collaborations, and a lot of brands involved and it’s very complex. And it felt to me that it was not right to wear the pin there, when I’m coming to work. And it could be that it was a mistake.”

In an Instagram Story on Sunday, Gadot clarified the comments she made on “Special Interview” about the failure of “Snow White.”

“I was honored to join an extraordinary interview with inspiring interviewers, whose questions go straight to the heart,” Gadot wrote, as seen in a screenshot of the Instagram Story captured by BuzzFeed. “Sometimes we respond to questions from an emotional place. When the film [‘Snow White’] came out, I felt that those who are against Israel criticized me in a very personal, almost visceral way. They saw me first and foremost as an Israeli, not as an actress. That’s the perspective I spoke from when I answered the question.”

“Of course, the film didn’t fail solely because of external pressures. There are many factors that determine why a film succeeds or fails, and success is never guaranteed,” she concluded.

On Sunday, Gadot met with families of Israeli hostages at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv to support them during a nationwide protest called “Israel On Hold,” which was organized by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in an effort to pressure the Israeli government to negotiate for the release of the 50 remaining hostages abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.