Gal Gadot, Will Ferrell, Natalie Portman and More Criticized For Cringey ‘Imagine’ Cover

The celebrity-packed cover of John Lennon’s classic ballad has been widely roasted for missing the mark.

Brandon Friederich

Mar 19, 2020

Gal Gadot lead a star-studded cover version of John Lennon’s “Imagine” in an effort to lift other self-quarantined fans’ spirits during the coronavirus pandemic. But unfortunately, many viewers were less than impressed.

The Wonder Woman star remotely enlisted the talents of Sia, Will Ferrell, Sarah Silverman, Jimmy Fallon, James Marsden, Amy Adams, Zoe Kravitz, Norah Jones, Mark Ruffalo, Natalie Portman, Lynda Carter, Cara Delevinge and more to perform an a cappella rendition of the iconic ballad on Instagram. Watch it below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B95M4kNhbzz

“These past few days got me feeling a bit philosophical,” Gadot said in her three-minute introduction to the song. “You know this virus has affected the entire world, everyone. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from. We’re all in this together.”

“Let’s imagine together. Sing with us,” she said before segueing into Lennon’s opening line.

But the seemingly key-less singalong was met with a mostly unimpressed response from media outlets and commenters alike. The New York Post called Gadot “Blunder Woman,” Highsnobiety and the A.V. Club both deemed the performance “cringe,” and UK newspaper the Guardian said that the whole concept of celebrities chanting to the world about self-isolation is “a bit rich,” in classic British fashion.

Social media users on all platforms also chimed in with their thoughts. Here are some select tweets:

Gal Gadot: i hope this cute video of me and my friends will make people smile 🙂

Twitter: pic.twitter.com/ILf4nHmVwT

— Ben Sixsmith (@BDSixsmith) March 19, 2020

https://twitter.com/living_resource/status/1240596699585875972

Jeff Goldblum getting back to Gal Gadot pic.twitter.com/lBHIURuy77

— gianmarco (@GianmarcoSoresi) March 19, 2020

https://twitter.com/peachy_peter/status/1240496797837131776 https://twitter.com/K1NGK0NG__/status/1240591011811856386

Me two seconds after opening that Gal Gadot video. pic.twitter.com/SmE5rRsPg3

— فرح (@sunflowersnshii) March 19, 2020

Gal Gadot and those celebrities after posting a video of them attempting to sing “Imagine” pic.twitter.com/BaCNmDJ0A0

— ahmad (@thisisnotahmad) March 19, 2020

Let’s all agree to chalk that one up to good intentions and poor executions.