The criticism around Wonder Woman alum Gal Gadot’s acting continues to swirl as her 2021 Netflix movie Red Notice teeters in its number one spot.
The hawkishness around the 40-year-old comes after acting critic Cooper Neidecker dragged her in a May YouTube video, for her portrayal of Wonder Woman opposite Pedro Pascal in the 2020 film.
Highlights
- Wonder Woman alum Gal Gadot, 40, is under renewed scrutiny for her acting.
- YouTube critic Cooper Neidecker called her Evil Queen portrayal “terrible” and blamed her for the film’s flop.
- Gadot told Israeli TV she expected Snow White to succeed but blamed politics for its poor reception.
Also drawing attention is Gadot’s portrayal of Disney’s Evil Queen opposite the titular Snow White, released in March 2025.
The movie has since been deemed “a flop,” and fans–while lauding Rachel Zegler’s depiction of Snow White–have described Gadot’s performance as one of her worst.
Image credits: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty
Neidecker, in his April 2 YouTube critique, did not mince his words.
“Gal Gadot is in the new Snow White movie, and it’s got a lot of people asking the question ‘why was Gal Gadot ever cast in any movie ever and why is she like a movie star, she sucks at acting?’”
He switched to the scene from Wonder Woman, in which Gadot is clinging to the hood of a moving vehicle with Maxwell Lord (Pascal) behind the wheel.
The scene shows Pascal’s face screwed up as he puts his all into looking terrified.
Image credits: gal_gadot
Gadot, on the other side of the windshield, could just as easily have been telling someone about to go on a shopping run not to forget the milk.
“I need you to give me the stone,” she says with a relatively stony demeanor.
Niedecker interrupts the scene to read a review that claims Gadot “gets worse the more pronounced she is.”
Critic Cooper Neidecker blamed Snow White’s flop on Gadot’s “terrible” acting
Image credits: Snow White/Disney+
Niedecker pivots to her performance in Snow White, where he quotes another review describing it as “the real poison apple.”
He goes on to say that these onscreen faux pas are not isolated or a bad patch suffered by an otherwise competent star, but rather examples of failures that characterize Gadot’s career.
Niedecker then switches to a snippet of Gadot, purportedly failing in character as the Evil Queen, and says, “This is serving nothing.”
According to the producer, her performance in the movie is an artifact of broader pattern mistakes, including character design.
Image credits: Red Notice Netflix
“Look at what they did to Rachel Zegler,” Niedecker complained. “This is the main character of the movie and they let hair and makeup destroy everything, and then they tried to blame it on Rachel. I don't know what they're doing.”
Niedecker further claimed that the movie flopped because of the character design and Gadot’s “terrible acting.”
The 40-year-old actress told an Israeli TV show that she expected the movie to be a success
Image credits: Film Cooper
Gadot has since surfaced to give her take on Snow White’s tanking numbers.
“I really enjoyed filming this movie,” she told the host and extended the sentiment to co-star Zegler amid swirling rumors that the two clashed over differing stances on the Middle Eastern status quo.
“I was sure this movie was going to be a huge hit,” she continued. “But then it happened,” she said, referring to the October 7 incursion.
A cartoon is challenging Red Notice in its top spot on Netflix
Meanwhile, on Netflix, Red Notice, in which she stars alongside big names like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Ed Sheeran, and Ryan Reynolds, is currently sitting at just below 231 million views.
Image credits: gal_gadot
Next in line and contending for the top spot is Kpop Demon Hunters, which is only months old (released June 2025) and has 210 million views.
Despite Gadot's 33 awards for her portrayal of Wonder Woman
In response to Niedecker’s critique, one person summed up the swirling dissent for the 40-year-old star’s acting, saying:
Image credits: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty
“Gal Gadot acting in a film is like an average person participating at the Olympics. You'd think that acting isn’t that difficult because you only see great actors, but when you see her acting compared to good acting…”
It must be noted that aside from the growing negativity around Gadot’s career, she has received a string of nominations from various organizations.
In fact, her actual wins (33) outweigh her nominations (32), as can be seen on IMDb—nearly all of which are for her portrayal of Niedecker’s pet hate; Wonder Woman.
The criticism for the star is wide spread
