Gal Gadot Points Finger At Political Backlash For Historic Disney Flop
The blame game has officially begun in Hollywood and Gal Gadot is coming out swinging. The massive box office disaster that was Disney's live-action Snow White has left executives scrambling for answers but the films villain has a theory that has nothing to do with bad CGI or a weak script. Gadot is claiming that the movie was targeted and destroyed because of the intense political pressure on celebrities to speak out against Israel.
In a bombshell interview on the Israeli TV show The A Talks the actress finally broke her silence on why the movie tanked so hard. She is not buying the narrative that audiences just weren't interested. Instead she is doubling down on the idea that the geopolitical climate following the October 7 attacks created a toxic environment that made the film dead on arrival. It is a bold move to blame global politics for a movie that critics absolutely shredded but Gadot is standing her ground.
I was disappointed that the movie was greatly affected by that and did not do well at the box office Gadot told the hosts. She believes there is a direct correlation between her public support for her home country and the empty seats in theaters worldwide. While Disney has remained completely silent on the matter trying to sweep this mess under the rug Gadot is ripping the bandage off and exposing the raw nerves of Hollywoods political divide.
This is a major pivot from the usual PR spin where stars thank the fans and move on. Gadot is essentially saying the game was rigged against her from the start. It raises huge questions about whether mainstream audiences are actually boycotting stars based on their political stances or if the movie just plain sucked. But if you ask Gal the writing was on the wall the moment the conflict escalated.
The Rachel Zegler Feud Rumors: Real Or PR Smoke?
You cannot talk about this movie without addressing the elephant in the room: Rachel Zegler. The films lead actress has been extremely vocal about her pro-Palestine stance which stands in direct opposition to Gadots background as a former soldier in the IDF. For months the internet has been fueled by rumors that the set was a war zone and that the two stars secretly despised each other.
However Gadot is trying to shut those rumors down fast. During her interview she insisted that her time on set with Zegler was nothing but sunshine and rainbows. We laughed we talked and it was fun she claimed. She even said she was sure the movie was going to be a huge success based on their chemistry.
But lets look at the reality here. These two are on completely opposite sides of one of the most polarizing issues on the planet. Are we really supposed to believe they were braiding each others hair in the trailer while posting conflicting political statements on Instagram? Insiders have long whispered that the press tour was a logistical nightmare for Disney publicists who were terrified of putting them in the same room with a live microphone.
There is no way they got along. Zegler is constantly posting about Gaza and Gal was in the IDF. The tension on that set must have been thick enough to cut with a knife.
Gadots comments feel like classic Hollywood damage control. Admitting to a feud now would only make the flop look worse. By claiming they were besties she shifts the narrative away from personal drama and back to her main point: that the world turned against the movie because of who she is not because of who she worked with.
The 270 Million Dollar Financial Bloodbath
Let's talk numbers because in Hollywood money is the only language that really matters. And the numbers for Snow White are absolutely horrific. Reports indicate that Disney spent a staggering 270 million dollars to make this film. That does not even include the marketing budget which likely pushed the total investment well over 350 million dollars.
So what did it make back? A pathetic 205 million dollars worldwide. Do the math folks. That is a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. In any other industry someone would be fired immediately. This isnt just a stumble it is a financial catastrophe that will leave a crater in Disneys quarterly earnings.
Gadot claiming that political backlash caused a loss of this magnitude is a massive accusation. For a movie to bomb this hard it means nobody showed up. Not the families not the Disney adults and certainly not the critics. It failed to recoup even its production costs which is the baseline requirement for a studio tentpole.
Failing to recoup its production and marketing costs is industry speak for an absolute disaster. Disney has been taking hits lately but this one stings differently. If Gadot is right and politics played a role it means the brand is toxic. If she is wrong it means the creative team completely lost touch with what audiences want.
Critics Destroyed It Before The Boycotts Even Started
Here is where Gadots theory starts to show some cracks. Before the political discourse could even fully take over the movie was already getting hammered by critics. The review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes has the film sitting at a dismal 38 percent. That is rotten to the core.
Critics did not mince words. They called out dopey stylistic choices and a bashful treatment of the source material. They slammed the CGI. They questioned the acting. The consensus was that the movie was a mess regardless of who was starring in it. When a movie is that bad word of mouth spreads like wildfire and kills ticket sales faster than any boycott ever could.
I did not see it because it looked like a cheap video game not because of politics. The trailers were awful. Stop blaming the audience for bad movies.
By focusing on the Israel backlash Gadot is conveniently sidestepping the fact that people just did not like the movie. It is a defense mechanism we see all the time. When a project fails it is never the scripts fault it is always the trolls or the political climate. But a 38 percent score suggests the problems were baked into the film long before it hit theaters.
The October 7 Turning Point
Gadot was very specific about the timeline in her interview. She pinpointed October 7 as the moment everything changed. She noted that after the attacks there was immense pressure placed on Hollywood celebrities to denounce Israel. As one of the most visible Israeli women in the world she became a lightning rod for this sentiment.
She describes an industry that suddenly felt hostile. Whats happening in all kinds of industries and also in Hollywood is that theres a lot of pressure she explained. This paints a picture of a celebrity who feels isolated by her peers and abandoned by an industry that used to celebrate her.
This perspective offers a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes chaos at Disney. Marketing this movie must have been a nightmare. How do you sell a fairy tale when your Evil Queen is at the center of a geopolitical firestorm? The studio likely pulled back on promotion to avoid controversy which in turn hurt the box office even more.
It is a vicious cycle. The controversy breeds silence the silence kills the hype and the lack of hype leads to empty theaters. Gadot seems to believe that if the political climate were different Snow White would have been a smash hit. It is a bold "what if" scenario that we will never be able to prove.
Fan Reactions Are totally Split
Social media is currently melting down over Gadots comments. On one side you have supporters who agree that the boycott against her was unfair and rooted in antisemitism. They believe the movie never stood a chance because the internet mob decided to kill it before it was even released.
On the other side you have people rolling their eyes. They argue that Gadot is out of touch and refusing to accept that Disney live-action remakes are losing their magic. They point to the fatigue audiences are feeling with constant reboots and the specific creative choices made in this film that alienated purists.
She is delusional. The movie flopped because nobody asked for a live action Snow White with bad CGI. The politics were just the cherry on top of a bad sundae.
The comment sections are a war zone. People are bringing up Zeglers past comments about the original cartoon being creepy. They are bringing up Gadots service in the IDF. It is a toxic stew of fandom and politics that proves exactly why Disney is terrified of this topic.
Disney's Deafening Silence
Throughout all of this Disney has said absolutely nothing. There have been no official statements regarding the specific impact of the geopolitical issues. The Mouse House is famous for staying neutral but their silence here speaks volumes. They are likely hoping this story dies down so they can write off the loss and move on to the next project.
But Gadot is not letting it die. By going on TV and explicitly blaming the backlash she is forcing Disney to confront the reality that their casting choices have consequences in a polarized world. It puts the studio in an impossible position. If they agree with her they alienate one side. If they disagree they alienate the other.
Insiders suggest that executives are furious that she is bringing this up again. They wanted the Snow White disaster to fade into memory. Now it is back in the headlines linked directly to a global conflict. It is a PR nightmare that just wont end.
Is Gal Gadot Box Office Poison Now?
The biggest scandal here might be the future of Gal Gadots career. If studios believe that her presence in a movie guarantees a political boycott and a box office bomb she could be in serious trouble. Hollywood is a business first and foremost. If you cost them money you are out.
She was once the golden girl of the DC Universe but with Wonder Woman 3 canceled and now this high-profile flop her track record is taking a hit. Is she becoming too controversial to cast? It is a brutal industry and loyalty only lasts as long as the profit margins.
We have seen stars get canceled for less. Gadot is fighting for her narrative right now trying to frame this as an injustice rather than a career failure. Whether the industry buys that story remains to be seen.
Cliffhanger: Will Rachel Zegler Clap Back?
The ball is now firmly in Rachel Zeglers court. Gadot has painted a picture of a happy set and a united front but Zegler is known for being unfiltered on social media. Will she stay silent and let Gadot control the narrative or will she drop a cryptic tweet that blows the whole "we were friends" story out of the water?
We are watching Zeglers feeds like hawks. If she decides to speak out about her experience on set or refute Gadots claims about the "fun" they had this story is going to explode all over again. The Snow White drama is far from over and the real truth about what happened on that set might still come out.
Stay tuned because in Hollywood the only thing sharper than a poisoned apple is the shade thrown between co-stars when a movie loses 100 million dollars.
