As Wonder Woman prepares to make its official debut and potentially rake in enough cash to orgasm Scrooge McDuck to death, one market will be going without the DC’s latest cinematic adventure. The issue? The film’s star Gal Gadot.
Lebanon has made the decision to ban Wonder Woman just before the blockbuster’s slated Lebanese premiere, reports The Guardian. The reason for the ban is due to lead Gal Gadot’s time spent as a member of the Israel Defense Forces and Gadot’s comments on Israel’s military policies. (The criticism of screening the film can’t be a complete surprise. Lebanon is officially at war with Israel.) The Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel-Lebanon pushed for the previously approved film to be banned and got their wish on May 31 when the announcement was made Wonder Woman’s planned opening in Lebanon had been axed. The group has branded Wonder Woman as an “Israeli Soldier film.”
This isn’t the first time that Gal Gadot’s presence in a DC film has sparked controversy and calls for a boycott. Unlike what the six-member Ministry of Economy committee decided for Wonder Woman, last year’s Batman v Superman was an option for Lebanese filmgoers despite a push to 86 its release.
The 15 theaters originally scheduled to offer Wonder Woman aren’t going to make or break Warner Bros.’ bottom line, but the ban does raise questions about what level of Israeli might be considered “acceptable” to protesting groups. As Lebanese blogger Elie Fares has noted, Natalie Portman was born in Israel, but that hasn’t prompted an outcry for an across-the-board ban of her films.
“I don’t know about you, but I’ll be making sure to watch Wonder Woman,” writes Fares. “Gal Gadot may be a sh*tty person and actress, but both are still not enough arguments to ban the movie.”
Wonder Woman is slated to officially open in most international markets (including America) on June 2.
(Via The Guardian)