Gal Gadot Suffers Fresh Humiliation After Feud with 'Snow White' Co-Star Rachel Zegler As Actress Stays Away From Venice Film Festival Over Gaza Protests
Gal Gadot will be missing from this year's Venice Film festival over fears her presence may spark mass protests and demonstrations against Israel.
Aug. 29 2025, Published 4:00 p.m. ET
Gal Gadot is swerving the Venice Film Festival amid a political row over whether she should attend.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the Israeli actress, 40, has come under pressure over her perceived support of the state of Israel during its military campaign in Gaza.
Gadot No Show
Gadot is swerving the prestigious event, despite her new movie premiering in Venice.
And there are fears Gadot's presence at the annual spectacle could spark unwanted protests and demonstrations against Israel, which look certain to disrupt the red carpet on Saturday.
Gadot's co-star in her new film, The Hand of Dante, Gerard Butler, has also voiced his support for Israel and is similarly under pressure to stay away.
Their movie is premiering at Venice this year, which has heavy security in place.
A ring of steel has been erected around the collection of cinemas at the center of the festival, plus there is a visible police presence.
Body scanners, bag checks, and security passes are all being used to monitor delegates and ticket holders.
Pressure group Artists 4 Palestine has demanded that Festival organizers, the Biennale, withdraw invitations from both Gadot and Butler, "along with any artist and celebrity who publicly and actively supports genocide."
Pro-Israel Support
Gadot, and co-star Gerard Butler, have both been vocal in their support for Israel.
Venice Film Festival boss Alberto Barbero confirmed this week that the actress is not coming to Venice.
But he said: "The position of the Biennale is, on the one hand, we are an Italian cultural institution, a place of openness and debate that does not censor anybody.
"We've been asked to turn down invitations to artists – we will not do that; if they want to be here, they will be here."
He added: "On the other hand, we have never hesitated to clearly declare our huge sadness and suffering vis-à-vis what is happening in Gaza and Palestine.
"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."
Safety Concerns
A huge security presence is already in place at the festival, despite Gadot not attending.
Isabella De Monte, Forza Italia MP and deputy head of the party's Foreign Affairs Department, said: "Dialogue and a plurality of ideas are the main tools that culture deploys to overcome sectarianism.
"It's good that Biennale President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco emphasized this to the 1,500 artists who were calling for a boycott of Gal Gadot and her film with Gerard Butler. A reckless protest, because in the eyes of those protesting, Gadot's only crime is being Israeli.
"The Venice Film Festival deserves respect."
The controversy surrounding Gadot's absence from Venice comes after the actress was embroiled in a rumored feud with her Snow White co-star, Rachel Zegler, which overshadowed the coverage of the flop movie.
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Gadot's feud with 'Snow White' co-star Rachel Zegler overshadowed flop movie.
Speaking about the commercial failure of the Disney flick, in which she played the Evil Queen, she said: "I really enjoyed filming that movie, I really had fun. Even working alongside Rachel Zegler. We laughed and we talked, we had fun.
"I was positive the movie was going to be a huge hit. And then October 7th happened, and what happened all over in different industries, not just Hollywood, there was a lot of pressure put on celebrities, actors, creators to post against Israel.
"And it happened. I can always explain and try to give people in the world context about the situation and the reality in Israel, and I always do that.
"But at the end, people make up their own minds. And I was disappointed that the movie was incredibly affected by all of that and that it didn't do well at the box office. But it is what it is, you win some, you lose some."
