The Evil Queen Goes Rogue: Gadot Points Fingers at Political Sabotage
The cold war over the disastrous live-action Snow White remake has officially gone nuclear. After months of silence, Gal Gadot has finally ripped the bandage off the wound that was Disney's massive 2024 box office bomb, and she is not taking the fall quietly. In a stunningly candid interview on Israeli television, the Wonder Woman star essentially blamed the film's failure on the toxic political climate and, by extension, the "Free Palestine" stance taken by her co-star, Rachel Zegler. This isn't just a post-mortem of a bad movie; it is a full-blown Hollywood finger-pointing session that exposes the deep fractures within the cast.
Gadot, who played the Evil Queen, sat down for the show Special Interview on Keshet 12, a program known for its neurodivergent interviewers who ask zero-filter questions. Trapped in a format where PR spin is nearly impossible, Gadot cracked. She admitted that she was convinced the movie would be a "huge success" until the world turned upside down on October 7, 2023. According to Gadot, the industry turned against her and the film because of the overwhelming "pressure on celebrities to speak out against Israel."
"I was disappointed that the movie was greatly affected by that and didn't do well at the box office," Gadot confessed, dropping the diplomatic act she maintained during the film's promotional run. While she didn't name-drop Rachel Zegler explicitly in that sentence, the subtext was screaming louder than a banshee. Zegler famously tweeted "Free Palestine" mere days after the trailer dropped, igniting a firestorm that sources say alienated a massive chunk of the audience before tickets even went on sale.
Insiders have long whispered about the icy tension between Gadot and Zegler. The two were kept on separate press tours—a virtually unheard-of move for a Disney tentpole—and Zegler was conspicuously absent from Gadot's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony. Now, Gadot is making it clear: the movie didn't bomb because it was bad (though critics argued otherwise); it bombed because Hollywood and the public turned on Israel, and her co-star helped light the match.
Backstage Chaos: The 'Immature' Co-Star and The PR Nightmare
Let's not forget the chaos that plagued this production from the start. While Gadot played nice on camera, saying she "really enjoyed" working with Zegler and that they "laughed and talked," sources behind the scenes paint a picture of a production held together by duct tape and forced smiles. The son of the film's producer didn't hold back last year, slamming Zegler's political posts as "immature" and directly blaming her for the tanking reviews. For Gadot to now validate that narrative on national television is a massive escalation.
Fans have been flooding social media, sensing the bad blood was real all along:
"Gal is trying to be classy but you can tell she is furious that Rachel tanked her movie. Imagine being the Evil Queen and your Snow White is actively sabotaging the box office receipts."
Another fan noted the convenience of the excuse:
"I love Gal but blaming the war for a Disney flop is a stretch. Maybe people just didn't want another remake? But yeah, Zegler didn't help."
The fallout was catastrophic. Snow White hit theaters in March 2024 and performed so poorly it's being whispered about in the same breath as Pete's Dragon. Gadot's defense? "You win some, you lose some." But make no mistake, for a star whose brand is built on being a global icon, this loss was personal, visceral, and clearly linked to her identity as a vocal supporter of the Jewish state.
Secret Medical Terror: Scared to Death with a Brain Clot
If the career drama wasn't enough, Gadot dropped a medical bombshell that has left her fanbase reeling. The actress revealed that during her pregnancy with her fourth daughter, Ori, she suffered a life-threatening brain clot. This wasn't just a headache; Gadot admitted she was "scared to death." While the world was watching her navigate the Snow White disaster, she was secretly fighting for her life behind closed doors.
The timing of this revelation is suspect to some skeptics who think she's trying to garner sympathy after the movie flopped, but the details are terrifying. A brain clot during pregnancy is a ticking time bomb. Gadot credited her close friends, including interviewer Rotem Sela, for nursing her through the recovery. It explains why she appeared somewhat withdrawn during parts of 2024—she wasn't just hiding from the bad reviews; she was recovering from a near-death experience.
This adds a layer of darkness to her "Evil Queen" era. Imagine doing press junkets and fighting with your co-star's political fanbase while terrified that a clot in your brain could end it all. It is a level of stress that would break most people, and it seems Gadot is only now comfortable enough to let the world know just how close to the edge she really was.
The Golden Globes Scandal: Did Gal Sell Out for Brands?
In perhaps the most damaging admission of the entire interview, Gadot addressed the elephant in the room: The Golden Globes. In January, while hostages were still being held in Gaza, Gadot showed up to present an award without the yellow solidarity pin that many expected her to wear. For an actress who served in the IDF and brands herself as a proud Israeli, the snub was seen as a betrayal by her home country.
Her excuse? Corporate greed and contractual shackles. "There are a lot of collaborations, and a lot of brands involved and it's very complex," she stammered, effectively admitting that her sponsorship deals took precedence over her political statement. She claimed it "felt not right" to wear the pin while "coming to work," a statement that has enraged activists who believe human lives should matter more than a jewelry endorsement.
However, the guilt is clearly eating her alive. She admitted, "It could be that it was a mistake." That is as close to a groveling apology as you will get from an A-lister. Gadot knows she dropped the ball, prioritizing the "brand collaborations" over the hostages, and now she is trying to walk it back as the backlash at home intensifies.
The Panic Cleanup: Instagram Damage Control
As soon as the interview aired and the headlines started screaming "Gal Blames Haters," the PR machine kicked into overdrive. Realizing she sounded like she was solely blaming the audience for her movie's failure, Gadot took to Instagram Stories for a classic "clarification" post. BuzzFeed caught the screenshot before it vanished, capturing a star in desperate damage control mode.
She claimed she was answering from an "emotional place" because critics were attacking her personally, not just as an actress. "They saw me first and foremost as an Israeli… almost visceral way," she wrote, trying to soften the blow of her previous comments. She backpedaled hard, adding, "Of course, the film didn't fail solely because of external pressures."
This flip-flopping reeks of panicked publicists screaming at her to stop burning bridges with Disney. One minute the movie failed because of anti-Israel pressure, the next minute it's "many factors." Which is it, Gal? The swift pivot suggests she knows she stepped in it. You can't accuse the audience of bigotry for not seeing your movie and then try to play nice the next day.
Back to the Frontlines
To prove her loyalty is still with her country (and perhaps to wash away the stain of the Golden Globes pin incident), Gadot was spotted this Sunday at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv. She joined the "Israel On Hold" protest, meeting with families of the 50 remaining hostages. It's a clear signal: Hollywood might be cold, her movie might have tanked, and Rachel Zegler might be her nemesis, but Gadot is retreating to her base.
This entire saga proves that the drama behind Snow White was far more entertaining than the movie itself. We have a brain clot, a co-star feud, a "Free Palestine" scandal, a box office bomb, and a star admitting she was too scared of losing brand deals to wear a solidarity pin. Disney must be thrilled this is all dragging out into 2026. As Gadot says, "You win some, you lose some"—but right now, it looks like everyone involved in this mess is losing.
