Gal Gadot blames 'pressure' for stars to speak about Israel for Snow White flopping

Gal Gadot believes the “pressure on celebrities to speak out against Israel” caused Snow White to flop.

The 40-year-old actress - who served in the Israeli Defense Forces for two years as part of her mandatory conscription - played the Evil Queen in Disney's live-action fairytale and she expected the film to be a "huge success", only for it to perform poorly at the global box office, generating a loss of more than $115 million.

And Gal has now suggested one reasons audiences were put off the film - which featured Rachel Zegler, a vocal supporter of Palestine and Gaza - because of the current political climate.

Speaking on Israeli TV show The A Talks, the Jerusalem Post reports she said in Hebrew: “First of all, I have to say that I really enjoyed filming this movie.

“I even enjoyed working with Rachel Zegler. We laughed, we talked and it was fun. I was sure that this movie was going to be a huge success.

“And then October 7 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 context about what’s happening and what the reality is here, 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.”

The former Miss Israel previously admitted she had found playing the Evil Queen "delicious" because she doesn't often get asked to play the villain.

She told Variety: "It was different than anything that I’ve ever done because I was playing the villain. She’s so theatrical and so grand and bigger than life … it was a delicious role to play."

Gal - who is best known for playing the lead in the Wonder Woman film franchise - loved the experience of getting to grips with a new character.

The Hollywood star shared: "That’s the fun part about what we do. To dig in to create all the history for the character and to understand how they operate - what triggers them, what they love, what scares them - it’s something that takes you through a journey when you play a character. And I love it."