Shortly after calls for quarantine began in March, one viral video led by Wonder Woman 1984’s Gal Gadot and featuring a slew of big names singing John Lennon’s “Imagine” didn't sit right with many. It was heavily criticized for being a tone deaf way to cheer people up, when people across the globe were dealing with losing their jobs and fear of spreading COVID-19. One of the stars featured in the video, Bridesmaid’s Chris O’Dowd, has opened up about his role in the video starting with these words:
I’ll do anything Kristen [Wiig] asks me to do, so of course we just did it. It took five minutes, didn’t think about it. I presumed it was for kids. I know that Gal works for UNICEF, so I presumed it was a charity thing.
O’Dowd became part of the video at the request of his good friend Kristen Wiig, who will portray Cheetah opposite Gal Gadot’s Diana Prince in Wonder Woman 1984. When he agreed to record a video of himself singing “Imagine,” he felt blinded by his love for the SNL alum and was under the impression it would benefit some form of charity. Strangely enough, Gadot’s intentions were solely to promote the message of “we are in this together” by enlisting her celebrity friends to sing a song with her.
During Chris O’Dowd’s appearance on the BBC podcast Grounded with Louis Theroux, he seemed to agree with the internet’s discourse with the video. He continued to address it with these words:
We were in that first wave of creative diarrhea that seemed to encase the entire world. It was just a bunch of people running around thinking that they had to do something when we really didn’t. We just needed to chill out and take everything in. So I think that any backlash was justified.
If you haven’t yet seen the aforementioned “Imagine” video, you can check it out here:
She certainly meant well, but the video didn’t exactly uplift spirits at a time when these big name stars were being looked at contribute to the cause in ways that didn't include simply bringing attention to themselves. Others involved include Jamie Dornan, James Marsden, Jimmy Fallon, Zoe Kravitz, Leslie Odom Jr., and Will Ferrell.
At the start of the stay-at-home orders, an intensely more tone deaf celebrity moment (which she has since apologized for) featured Vanessa Hudgens saying it's inevitable “people are going to die,” but that continued shutdowns into the summer months was a “bunch of bullshit.” Tons of celebrities have been hitting record more often while bored in quarantine, while others have been donating to COVID-19 relief. Tom Hanks has been the poster boy for the virus, since he was the first major name to get it while shooting the Elvis Presley biopic in Australia. He recently urged more people to wear masks, social distance and wash their hands, saying “shame on you” if they weren't following guidelines.
Gal Gadot’s upcoming return to her superhero role in Wonder Woman 1984 will hit theaters on October 2, 2020.
