Gal Gadot Won’t Be Attending the Venice Film Festival — Here’s Why

Gal Gadot was supposed to have a big moment at the Venice Film Festival, but things have changed quickly.

The actress, best known for playing Wonder Woman, was expected to walk the red carpet for the premiere of her new film In The Hand of Dante. Now, she won’t be showing up after strong backlash and rising tension around her appearance.

Activist groups have accused Gadot and her co-star Gerard Butler of supporting Israel during its military campaign in Gaza.

That sparked calls for boycotts and protests aimed directly at the festival. According to the Daily Mail, critics warned that her presence could turn into a “lightning rod” for demonstrations against Israel.

One of the most vocal organizations has been Artists 4 Palestine. The group demanded that Venice organizers cancel invitations not just for Gadot and Butler, but also for “any artist and celebrity who publicly and actively supports genocide.”

With protests already planned, authorities in Venice have moved to tighten security. Reports say a heavy security presence has been put in place, including bag checks, body scanners, and restricted access for attendees.

Festival director Alberto Barbera confirmed that Gadot would no longer attend, though he defended the Biennale’s position. “We are an Italian cultural institution, a place of openness and debate that does not censor anybody,” he said. He also added, “The death of civilians and especially children who are victims – they are the collateral damage of a war nobody has been able to terminate yet.”

Not everyone has supported the boycott calls. Isabella De Monte, deputy head of the Foreign Affairs Department for Italy’s Forza Italia party, criticized the demands as unfair. “A reckless protest, because in the eyes of those protesting, Gadot’s only crime is being Israeli,” she said.

She also praised Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco for standing firm against pressure from over 1,500 artists who signed a petition. “Dialogue and a plurality of ideas are the main tools that culture deploys to overcome sectarianism,” she explained.

This controversy comes only a few months after another setback in Gadot’s career. Earlier this year, she starred in Disney’s live-action Snow White, which was released on March 15. The film was expected to be a hit but instead flopped, bringing in about $200 million against a budget of $270 million.

Insiders told Variety that Gadot wasn’t to blame for the failure. Instead, they pointed to her co-star Rachel Zegler, who had made political remarks before the film’s release. “She didn’t understand the repercussions of her actions as far as what that meant for the film, for Gal, for anyone,” one source said.

For now, Venice will go ahead without Gal Gadot on its red carpet, but the debate around her absence is likely to continue.

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