‘The Runner’ Star Gal Gadot Breaks Down in Tears as She Sounds the Alarm on Antisemitism at Wiesenthal Gala

Gal Gadot has spent years using her fame to speak out against antisemitism, and she has not always done so in front of friendly crowds. In March 2025, she was honored with the Anti-Defamation League’s International Leadership Award at its Never Is Now summit on antisemitism and hate. That speech made clear she would keep using her platform on the issue.

That visibility has also drawn criticism. Her ADL remarks were met with a flood of condemnation in the comments when a video of the speech was shared online. More recently, she was named the 2026 Genesis Prize laureate, the annual $1 million award honoring Jewish contributions to humanity.

On Wednesday evening, Gadot took the stage at the Beverly Wilshire for the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Humanitarian Award Dinner and became visibly emotional. Moments earlier she had been smiling while telling the crowd how the evening’s honoree, Skydance co-CEO Ynon Kreiz, delivered his baby daughter in a car pulled over on a busy London street. Then the subject turned to the Oct. 7 massacre and the war that followed.

She told the room she had not expected to feel so emotional, and her voice broke as she kept going. According to The Hollywood Reporter, she said she was “frightened by how quickly hatred of Jews is spreading.” She also warned about how openly that hatred is expressed and accepted, and asked where it ends if people get used to looking the other way.

Her remarks were also a tribute to Kreiz. She spoke of the joy and passion he brings to his family and his work, and said the world needs leadership right now. She closed by urging him to keep shining his light, saying the world and the community need it more than ever.

Kreiz used his own acceptance speech to thank Skydance chief David Ellison for his stand for Israel and the Jewish people. He said the U.S.-Israel relationship must remain unshakable and denounced rising antisemitism around the globe since Oct. 7. He also argued that disagreement with the policies of the Israeli government cannot become an excuse for hatred of Jews.

The night also honored an activist. The center presented this year’s Medal of Valor to Elica Le Bon for her activism against antisemitism. Katzenberg and Ellison both delivered remarks before Gadot took the stage.

The dinner is a big fundraiser for the center. Last year’s Los Angeles dinner raised $4.3 million and honored Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, and the 2026 edition is looking to top that number.

Gadot’s activism is also showing up in her work. She is producing with an eye to star in an adaptation of Bianna Golodryga and Yonit Levi’s book ‘Don’t Feed the Lion’, which is in the works at Fox Entertainment Studios. She and her husband, Jaron Varsano, are teaming up with Moriah Media, the Wiesenthal Center’s film production wing, to bring the project to the screen.

Moriah Media is a relatively new force in the business. At last year’s dinner, the center announced it was expanding Moriah Media into a full development, financing and production entity for features, series, documentaries and short-form content. A Gadot-led project would be one of its highest-profile efforts.

These dinners are not always smooth sailing. At the 2024 gala, Ari Emanuel called for the ouster of Benjamin Netanyahu amid boos and shouts, a reminder of how divisive the Israel-Hamas war has been inside the industry. Gadot’s tearful message was more personal and unfolded in a quieter room, but it still adds to a conversation Hollywood has not stopped having.

How Gadot’s words land will depend on where viewers already stand, as her past speeches have shown. For many in that ballroom, the emotion was the point.

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