Gal Gadot Points Finger At Politics For Disney’s 'Snow White' Box Office Failure
By Kelly Coffey-Behrens on August 17, 2025 at 11:30 AM EDT
Gal Gadot is speaking out after Disney’s "Snow White" remake bombed at the box office, and she’s placing the blame on anti-Israel sentiment.
The 40-year-old "Wonder Woman" star, who played the Evil Queen in the film, opened up during a new interview in Israel that has since gone viral.
Gal Gadot admitted she was stunned by the movie’s catastrophic performance, claiming it was derailed after the October 7 Hamas attacks and the subsequent war in Gaza shifted public sentiment.
Gal Gadot Blames Anti-Israel Sentiment For Disney’s 'Snow White'
“I was sure this movie was going to be a huge hit. And then…it happened,” Gadot said, referring to the conflict. “And you know, this happens a lot in various industries, including Hollywood. There’s pressure on celebrities to speak against Israel,” she alleged.
The star, who served in the Israel Defense Forces and has long been an outspoken advocate for her country, explained that she felt audiences ultimately judged her as “an Israeli, not as an actress.” Gadot admitted she was “disappointed” by how the film was affected but concluded bluntly, “You win some, you lose some.”
Rachel Zegler Drama Fueled the Fire
While Gadot has now linked the film’s box office woes to geopolitics, "Snow White" was plagued with controversies long before its release, most of them surrounding its leading lady, Rachel Zegler.
Zegler drew fire for her polarizing public remarks, from openly disparaging the 1937 Disney classic to making splashy political statements, including a “free Palestine” post on social media. She even went viral for wishing Trump voters would “never know peace.”
The actress’ casting was also met with backlash, with critics noting she didn’t fit the Grimm Brothers’ description of Snow White as having “skin as white as snow.”
Even Jonah Platt, son of the film’s powerhouse producer Marc Platt, publicly criticized Zegler, revealing his father “flew cross-country to reprimand her” for dragging her personal politics into the promotional tour.
And then there was the dwarfs debacle. Disney decided to scrap the original seven little people after Peter Dinklage slammed the portrayal, only to later backtrack and bring them back as CGI characters.
Rumored Feud Between Gal Gadot And Rachel Zegler Denied
Fueling headlines last year were whispers of a behind-the-scenes feud between Gadot and Zegler, allegedly stemming from their opposing stances on Israel and Palestine.
During her new interview, Gal Gadot addressed the speculation head-on when an audience member joked, “Especially when it wasn’t with Rachel Zegler.”
Gadot quickly shot back, “I even enjoyed working with Rachel Zegler. I laughed, talked and had fun.”
She later took to Instagram Stories to clarify her viral remarks, stressing that she had answered from “an emotional place.” Gadot acknowledged the movie’s failure was not solely due to political backlash, writing, “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.”
Despite Gal Gadot's optimism early on, and even receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame during the movie’s promotional push, "Snow White" ended up being one of Disney’s biggest disasters in recent years. Forbes estimated the movie lost “more” than $115 million by the end of its theatrical run.
Production Woes Made It Worse
The film’s production was riddled with problems from the very start.
According to Variety, "Snow White" was hit with repeated delays caused by COVID-19, a fire on set, and the 2023 Hollywood actors’ strike, which led to major scheduling disruptions.
Test screenings reportedly brought back negative feedback, forcing Disney to order expensive reshoots that ballooned the budget to a staggering $270 million.
Disney’s $270 Million 'Snow White' Opens To Just $43 Million
Despite the studio’s desperate attempts to right the ship, the film failed to connect with audiences.
A rival studio executive bluntly told the outlet, “You can’t say that a live-action remake of the most iconic film in the vault that cost [$270] million and has been reshot multiple times opening to $50 million is OK. The math does not work. That movie should be a billion-dollar movie.”
In reality, "Snow White" stumbled right out of the gate, opening to just $43 million domestically, well below projections.
