Gal Gadot’s ‘Snow White’ faces major setback in Lebanon over country’s strict policy

Snow White starring Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot  has been unceremoniously banned from playing in Lebanon due to the latter’s Israeli origins and the Arabic state’s strict policy against her country.

Gadot, an Israeli actress and former Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldier, plays the Evil Queen in Disney’s latest live action reimagining of the classic children’s fairytale.

The decision to ban the film was undertaken by Lebanon’s Interior Minister Ahmad Al-Hajjar who reportedly acted on the issue as it was brought to attention by the country’s local media watchdog, citing Israel’s attacks on the Lebanese group of Hezbollah.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Italia Films, who handle Disney releases in the Arabic region, told Variety that Gadot has been on the country’s “Israel boycott list” longer than the recent conflict.

The source from Middle East’s Beirut-based film distributor also revealed that no film starring the 39-year-old actress has ever been released in Lebanon.

However, addressing reports of an additional ban in Kuwait, the representative said that no such action has been taken elsewhere.

While the Wonder Woman actress resides in the US now, the former IDF member has been a long-standing supporter of the regime in her home country and its practices.

Expressing her shock at the current situation, she previously mentioned, “Never did I imagine that on the streets of the United States, and different cities around the world, we would see people not condemning Hamas, but celebrating, justifying and cheering on a massacre of Jews.”

Concurrently, along with Disney’s Snow White, Lebanon previously banned Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World which also released earlier this year, due to the presence of Israeli actress Shira Haas in the film.