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The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has been taking a toll on many countries around the world. A lot of people’s daily activities have been halted in order to promote social distancing and self-quarantining.
In the wake of such an unprecedented crisis, a number of celebrities are using their influence to try and help make things better for fans. One star in particular — Gal Gadot — decided to start a sing-along campaign to John Lennon’s “Imagine.”
However, the internet did not respond too kindly to Gadot’s efforts. Instead, her campaign was quickly slammed for being tone-deaf.
What was Gal Gadot’s ‘Imagine’ sing-along campaign about?
A couple of weeks ago, Gadot posted a video on her Instagram explaining to fans that she has been in self-quarantine. She noted that nearly everyone around the world is affected by the coronavirus, which means that “we’re all in this together.”
Inspired by the idea of solidarity and a video of an Italian trumpeter playing “Imagine” by John Lennon on his balcony, Gadot decided to sing the song with a number of fellow celebrities. Gadot’s sing-along campaign included famous faces like Jamie Dornan, Jimmy Fallon, Natalie Portman, Zoe Kravitz, Will Ferrell, Mark Ruffalo, Norah Jones, Kaia Gerber, and many more.
Why is the internet calling Gal Gadot’s video tone deaf?
It’s clear that Gadot’s video was meant to uplift fans’ spirits, but the internet subsequently united to complain about how tone-deaf the whole thing was. Many people pointed out that the pandemic has created not just a health crisis, but an economic crisis as well.
All around the world, folks are fearing for their families and their livelihoods, and the idea of rich celebrities singing to them to cheer them up just did not sit well with netizens.
“Hey celebs, we don’t want to be sung to,” one person said on Twitter. “We want you to use a million or two of your money and order ventilators, masks, and gloves from the manufacturers then donate them to a hospital. Or pay for the salaries of an entire staff at a bar, restaurant, or daycare.”
“Gal Gadot and all the others in the video may have their heart in the right place, but they are terribly out of touch and have no idea what normal people are going thru right now,” someone said on Reddit.
Meanwhile, comedian Joe Rogan had harsh words to say to Gadot on his podcast: “This is not the time, when everyone’s granny is dying, you fucking idiot, to sing, ‘Imagine there’s no heaven.’ It’s such a dumb move… There are some people who get real self-indulgent and real self-righteous with that social media. It’s exposed a lot of celebrities for being real dorks.”
Of course, memes have erupted over Gadot’s “Imagine” video as well, with one person even going as far as to share the reported net worth of everyone involved.
How have celebrities reacted?
The celebrity response to the uproar has been mixed. Rick Gervais told BBC Radio 5 Live he’s not a fan.
“That ‘Imagine’ video, it’s not that bad, they’re probably very nice people,” said Gervais.
“It was an awful rendition, but they might have been doing it for good reasons, to help these normal nobodies.”
He added: “But they’re going, ‘My film’s coming up and I’m not on telly – I need to be in the public eye’ – not all of them, but some of them. You can see in their eye – ‘I could cry at the beauty of my personality, I’m just so beautiful for doing this’ and everyone sees that – we get it.”
Podcast host Joe Rogan shared a similar sentiment, reports The Hollywood Reporter. “This is not the time, when everyone’s granny is dying, you fucking idiot, to sing, ‘Imagine there’s no heaven,’” Rogan said on his podcast. “It’s such a dumb move.”
Actor Jamie Dornan, who was affiliated with the cringe-worthy project, has gone on record to defend Gadot’s efforts while on the Tea with Me podcast with Shane Todd. According to the actor, Gadot was “trying to do a good thing.”
Written by: CheatSheet
