Gal Gadot admits star-studded Imagine video at height of Covid pandemic was 'in poor taste'
Gal Gadot has conceded a video of herself and a host of celebrity friends singing John Lennon's Imagine at start of the Covid pandemic was "in poor taste".
The Wonder Woman star told magazine InStyle the message, featuring famous faces including Natalie Portman and Jamie Dornan, was prompted by "pure intentions" but admitted she had not "hit the bullseye".
In the video, viewed more than two million times on Instagram alone, the 36 year-old sang the intro to Lennon’s 1971 classic before a host of celebrities took it in turns to sing portions of the song.
Posted in March 2020, the clip was roundly mocked online while others went as far as to brand it tone deaf, highlighting the apparent disconnect between lyrics such as “imagine no possessions” sang from multimillion pound mansions while hundreds of thousands lost their lives, relatives, jobs and homes.
In the video, the Israeli actor explained she had been in isolation for six days and the global crisis had left her feeling "philosophical".
Gadot captioned the video: "We are in this together, we will get through it together."
Nearly two years on, the star has now offered an explanation for the video.
"The pandemic was in Europe and Israel before it came (to the US) in the same way," Gadot told InStyle.
"I was seeing where everything was headed. But (the video) was premature. It wasn’t the right timing, and it wasn’t the right thing. It was in poor taste.
"All pure intentions, but sometimes you don’t hit the bull’s-eye."
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Following the backlash Gadot sought to play down the incident, breaking into a rendition of Imagine while accepting a prize at the Elle Women In Hollywood awards in October last year.
"It just felt right, and I don’t take myself too seriously," she said.
"I felt like I wanted to take the air out of it, so that (event) was a delightful opportunity to do that."
Other celebrities in the video included Sia, Pedro Pascal, Zoe Kravitz, Chris O’Dowd, Leslie Odom Jr, Eddie Benjamin, Ashley Benson, Lynda Carter, Jimmy Fallon, Will Ferrell, Norah Jones, Kaia Gerber, Cara Delevingne, Annie Mumolo, Labrinth and Maya Rudolph.