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Gal Gadot Gets Candid About ‘Snow White’ Flop After Rachel Zegler’s ‘Free Palestine’ Comment
Gal Gadot at the 82nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. Photo: Dan MacMedan-USA TODAY via Reuters Connect
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.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.