We’ve heard of products and movies being banned in countries because of graphic or offensive content, but this may be the first time one has been because of the starring actress or actor. Due to previously serving in the Israeli army, Gal Gadot’s film Wonder Woman has officially been banned in Lebanon.
Lebanon has been at war with the Israelis since 2016. As a result of Gadot’s former ties to their adversaries army, a movement was started by a Lebanese group Campaign to boycott any known supporters of Israel-Lebanon.
#WonderWoman has been banned in #Lebanon.
— Grand Cinemas Lebanon (@GCLebanon) May 31, 2017
Lebanese film chain Grand Cinemas officially announced the ban through their Twitter on Wednesday. According to Deadline, Lebanese law states that citizens must boycott Israeli products and also prohibits them from traveling to Israel or having any contact with its citizens.
Wonder Woman was initially scheduled to open up in 16 theaters in Lebanon, so the overall box office score won’t be hurt, but the move sets an interesting precedent. While it’s certainly Gadot’s biggest role to date, Lebanon didn’t ban any previous films in which see starred or played a role in.
The three most notable films, Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, Fast Five. Fast and Furious 6 managed to gross a combined $2 Million in Lebanon. It also should be noted that the same group attempted to get Batman v Superman banned, but failed to do so.
Taking all of this into account, it should be interesting to see if the group takes the same action with the upcoming Justice League movie that they are with Wonder Woman, considering Gadot’s prominent role in the film. There is still an opportunity to reprieve and reverse the ban on the film so Lebanese fans would be able to enjoy it, but it doesn’t seem likely.
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