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Gal Gadot Skips Venice Film Festival After Petition With 1.5k Signatures Demands She Be Banned
Gal Gadot posing at a Disney Snow White event, wearing a black lace dress with a pendant necklace.
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Gal Gadot Skips Venice Film Festival After Petition With 1.5k Signatures Demands She Be Banned

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After a petition to disinvite her, Gal Gadot’s absence at the Venice Film Festival triggered widespread chatter online.

The Italian city had rolled out the red carpet and welcomed stars like Julia Roberts, George Clooney, and Andrew Garfield to the days-long festival.

But Gal skipped the event altogether in light of the controversy.

Highlights
  • Gal Gadot has been at the center of controversy surrounding the Venice Film Festival.
  • Gal and co-star Gerard Butler were both named in a petition signed by 1,500 people to have them disinvited.
  • The festival organizers acknowledged the petition in a statement.
  • “Victory for humanity,” one commented on Gal’s absence at the festival, while others said, “I stand with Gal.”

“Victory for humanity,” one commented on her absence, while others said, “I stand with Gal.”

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    Gal Gadot posing in a black dress at a Breakthrough Prize event, relating to Venice Film Festival controversy.

    Image credits: Getty / Craig T Fruchtman

    Israeli actress Gal and her In the Hand of Dante co-star Gerard Butler were both noticeably missing from the prestigious film festival that concluded last week.

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    They were both named in an open letter that urged the Biennale, the festival’s parent body, to disinvite them before the festival began.

    Photographers capture moments on the red carpet at the Venice Film Festival amid news Gal Gadot skips event after petition.

    Image credits: La Biennale Di Venezia

    Ahead of the film festival, several activists hoped to shift the spotlight to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Middle East.

    Over 1,500 people, including industry figures and filmmakers, signed an open letter from the group V4P to bring attention to the conflict.

    Gal and co-star Gerard Butler were both named in a petition signed by 1,500 people to have them disinvited

    Man in a light green suit and dark shirt sitting in a studio with cityscape lights in the background, discussing Gal Gadot news.

    Image credits: Instagram / fallontonight

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    The letter condemned the Middle Eastern crisis and asked organizers to withdraw invitations to Gerard and Gal over their political stance on the subject.

    “We have been asked to turn down invitations to artists, we will not do that – if they want to be at the festival, they will be here,” the festival’s artistic director, Alberto Barbera, said in a press conference last month. 

    A promotional image for Venice Film Festival featuring a character from In the Hand of Dante with ocean steps background.

    Image credits: La Biennale Di Venezia

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    Although Alberto confirmed that the stars were not disinvited, neither Gal nor Gerard were present at the festival. 

    “GOOD RIDDANCE!” one commented online, while another wrote, “Ban her from ever working in a film again, please.”

    “Keep her off our screens. She can’t even act,” said another.

    Although they weren’t disinvited, both Gal and Gerard were noticeably absent from the Venice Film Festival

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    Gal Gadot posing in a black sheer dress while skipping Venice Film Festival after petition demands she be banned.

    Image credits: Instagram / gal_gadot

    Others said, “I’m on Gal’s side.”

    “WTF is going on. Leave her alone. Where’s all this hate come from?” one fan said.

    “The only thing she should be banned is for bad acting, but it turns out that there is a demand for that too and you can’t argue with her success,” another commented.

    Artist Julian Schnabel, who directed both Gal and Gerard in the thriller In the Hand of Dante, addressed the calls to boycott actors due to the ongoing crisis.

    “There’s no reason to boycott artists,” Julian said during a news conference at the film festival.

    Man sitting at a wooden table holding a cup, deep in thought, unrelated to Gal Gadot skipping Venice Film Festival news.

    Image credits: Instagram / gerardbutler

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    “I selected those actors for their merits as actors and they did an extraordinary job in the film. That’s about it. As far as [the conflict], I think we should talk about the movie, rather than this issue,” he said.

    Gal recently spoke about the backlash she has been receiving, especially after she and her Snow White co-star Rachel Zegler took opposing stances on the ongoing crisis.

    Director Julian Schnabel addressed the calls to boycott the two stars who acted in his recent film

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    Gal Gadot in a black lace dress posing at a Disney Snow White event, highlighting her absence from Venice Film Festival.

    Image credits: Instagram / gal_gadot

    During an interview on the talk show The A Talks, Gal was asked about the movie being a major flop.

    “I was sure that this movie was going to be a huge success,” she said last month.

    She noted there is “a lot of pressure on celebrities to speak” about the conflict, and this affected the movie’s performance.

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    Two women in elegant evening gowns presenting on stage at a film festival event with a microphone and award envelope.

    Image credits: Getty / Rich Polk

    “You can always explain and try to give people in the world a context about what’s happening and what the reality is here, but in the end, people decide for themselves,” she continued. 

    “I was disappointed that the movie was greatly affected by that and didn’t do well at the box office,” she added. 

    The Israeli actress spoke about how her political stance affected the success of Snow White

    Gal Gadot wearing white shirt and gold bracelets, posing thoughtfully amid Venice Film Festival ban petition controversy.

    Image credits: Instagram / gal_gadot

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    The actress later clarified that even though people “criticized [her] in a very personal, almost visceral way” for her political stance, this wasn’t the only reason the film flopped. 

    “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 wrote in an Instagram Story.

    Disney’s Snow White suffered a loss of about $115 million following its release earlier this year. 

    Fans had mixed reactions to the ongoing controversy surrounding Gal

    Screenshot of a social media comment by Namith Swarnasinghe referencing skipping the Oscars last year.

    Comment about Gal Gadot skipping Venice Film Festival after petition with 1.5k signatures demanding her ban.

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    Comment by Darren Abell stating his opinion on tolerance, with reactions, related to Gal Gadot skips Venice Film Festival petition.

    Comment stating she skipped the Venice Film Festival after a petition demanded Gal Gadot be banned, shown in black text on blue.

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    Comment in Cyrillic discussing Gal Gadot skipping Venice Film Festival after petition demanding ban, displayed on social media.

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    Text post by Maria Muller reading Hollywood pretends to be inclusive. You’re only included if you walk the line.

    Comment by Anthony Roberts saying Can’t separate the art from the artist on a social media post.

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    Comment by Simona Bettega expressing that the situation is vile discrimination, related to Gal Gadot ban petition.

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    Comment by Doc Fazzah Karim expressing skepticism and calling out a false display of innocence and friendliness online.

    Comment by John Diaz emphasizing that Gal Gadot skipped the Venice Film Festival amid petition controversy.

    Comment by Homer Noodleman expressing hope someone records 1,500 petition names related to Gal Gadot Venice Film Festival ban.

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    Comment on social media post questioning if Gal Gadot skipped or was not invited to an event, with laughing emojis.

    Poll Question

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    Binitha Jacob

    Binitha Jacob

    Writer, Entertainment News Writer

    Read more »

    At Bored Panda, I dive into breaking celebrity news, Hollywood updates, and viral pop culture stories that spark global conversations. My background as a reporter at International Business Times and Latin Times gave me experience covering fast-moving entertainment stories for international audiences. Today, my work regularly appears on Google News, AOL, and MSN, reaching millions of readers. What excites me most is capturing the pop culture moments that people can’t stop talking about.

    Read less »
    Binitha Jacob

    Binitha Jacob

    Writer, Entertainment News Writer

    At Bored Panda, I dive into breaking celebrity news, Hollywood updates, and viral pop culture stories that spark global conversations. My background as a reporter at International Business Times and Latin Times gave me experience covering fast-moving entertainment stories for international audiences. Today, my work regularly appears on Google News, AOL, and MSN, reaching millions of readers. What excites me most is capturing the pop culture moments that people can’t stop talking about.

    What do you think ?
    Robin Hutchison
    Community Member
    3 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Antisemitism is ugly and people that spread it are even uglier.

    d.kossak1
    Community Member
    3 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I think the 1500 people who signed the petition should be force to watch film of what Hamas did to these innocent people of Israel. The general public is bored with the entertainment industry’s stupidity.

    Apatheist Account2
    Community Member
    3 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Do people really disagree with an Israeli actress supporting her country? The UK could do with a few more people supporting rather than constantly criticising their home nation. As I've said elsewhere, neither side in that conflict has the moral high ground, but banning someone from attending a film festival so that others can push a particular agenda - what is that going to accomplish? How will that lead to peace? It needs strong people on *both* sides to push for peace and tell those involved that their actions are unacceptable in human society.

    Alexandra
    Community Member
    3 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The whole situation in the Middle East could be solved tomorrow if Hamas commits to acknowledging Israel. As long as Hamas makes it their goal to destroy Israel and all its inhabitants there will never be a solution.

    Load More Replies...
    Load More Comments
    Robin Hutchison
    Community Member
    3 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Antisemitism is ugly and people that spread it are even uglier.

    d.kossak1
    Community Member
    3 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I think the 1500 people who signed the petition should be force to watch film of what Hamas did to these innocent people of Israel. The general public is bored with the entertainment industry’s stupidity.

    Apatheist Account2
    Community Member
    3 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Do people really disagree with an Israeli actress supporting her country? The UK could do with a few more people supporting rather than constantly criticising their home nation. As I've said elsewhere, neither side in that conflict has the moral high ground, but banning someone from attending a film festival so that others can push a particular agenda - what is that going to accomplish? How will that lead to peace? It needs strong people on *both* sides to push for peace and tell those involved that their actions are unacceptable in human society.

    Alexandra
    Community Member
    3 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The whole situation in the Middle East could be solved tomorrow if Hamas commits to acknowledging Israel. As long as Hamas makes it their goal to destroy Israel and all its inhabitants there will never be a solution.

    Load More Replies...
    Load More Comments
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