The political positions of "Wonder Woman" star Gal Gadot may have caused that film problems in a second country.
Tunisia is suspending the upcoming premiere of "Wonder Woman" in the city of Tunis due to a protest by the People's Movement, an Arab nationalist political party, according to a report by Deadline Hollywood. The movie had been scheduled for release in at least two Tunisian movie theaters starting Thursday.
[salon_video id="14777191"]In a statement, the People's Movement party explained that "we must continue the mobilization on this type of affair, as on everything related to normalization with the Zionist entity." That said, a spokesperson for the Tunisian Culture Minister claimed that the suspension was "purely administrative" and due to an error in how the distributors applied for their operating visas. Lassad Goubantini, a distributor, disputes this and says that the decision was "based on bogus accusations."
He added, "Today they prevent a film because of an actress, tomorrow they’ll invent another excuse. It’s an attack on liberties."
"Wonder Woman" was also rejected by Lebanon, although unlike Tunisia, that nation singled out Gadot's Israeli heritage as the reason for its decision.
While her politics were not cited by the Lebanese government in its ban, Gadot had posted a controversial Facebook status in 2014 that supported Israel during its bombing attack in Gaza. She wrote that she supported the Israeli Defense Forces for "protecting my country against the horrific acts conducted by Hamas, who are hiding like cowards behind women and children."
Israel, by contrast, seems to have rallied behind the film in support of Gadot.
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