Will ‘Wonder Woman’ Be Defeated In Lebanon?
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
A Lebanese security official confirmed Tuesday that the Ministry of Economics has proposed a ban of the upcoming film “Wonder Woman.” The reason? It’s star, Gal Gadot, is Israeli.
While any official ban would have to come down from a Ministry of Economics advisory committee, pressure has been mounting from anti-Israeli boycott groups. One such group, “Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel-Lebanon,” has over 6,000 likes on their Facebook page. The group posted a picture Monday morning of Gadot in her Wonder Woman garb with the message “Playing a film in which [Gal Gadot] is featured (as the main actress) is against Lebanese law. In addition, she supported the Israeli army during its attack on Gaza, served in the Israeli army for two years, and boasted about the army training her for Hollywood.”
The group is referring to an old Lebanese law that mandates the boycott of Israeli products and forbids Lebanese citizens from having contact with Israelis.
As of now, the premiere of the film will go forward as scheduled, with an opening night in at least one theater in Beirut.
Previously, Gadot has appeared in two of the “Fast and Furious” franchise films, neither of which were banned in Lebanon. The same boycott group, however, did mount an ultimately failed campaign to ban “Batman vs. Superman” in which Gadot first appeared as Wonder Woman.
Becky Scott is the editor of The Schmooze. Follow her on Twitter at @arr_scott
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