A few weeks ago newspaper headlines screamed ‘Gal Gadot Is A True Superhero’. When Brett Ratner, the producer of the recent blockbuster hit “Wonder Woman”, was accused of sexually harassing multiple women, Gadot took a stand. It wasn’t an easy stand to take. Gadot said that she would not come back for the anticipated sequel, “Wonder Woman 2,” unless Ratner was out of the picture.
Ratner was dropped. Overnight, Gadot became our ‘Wonder Woman’, once again.
Among all the applauses for Gadot, an article that didn’t speak too highly of her, was published on Medium. The article was a narration of a horrific experience by an anonymous user “Ima Survivor”. She claimed that Gadot bullied and shamed her for being raped by a friend of theirs while modelling in Milan thirteen years ago. A week since the article has been published, barely any media organisation carried it, forget the big ones.
The first-person account will send the shivers down your spine. The anonymous user writes that she lived with Gadot in Milan, Italy over a decade ago, when they were both young models. She was introduced to Gadot's Israeli friends, one who would later rape her, according to her accusation.
"To this day, I have never been inebriated in that particular way, especially after only drinking wine. I was in and out of consciousness, and my body felt limp. I kept falling over," she wrote.
She had alleged that he had removed her clothes when she was unconscious and raped her. The next morning, the alleged rapist told her, “You told me no but your body told me yes."
When ‘Ima Survivor’ told this to Gadot, she was enraged, as the male friend was in a relationship with another close female friend of the actress. She allegedly blamed the victim and asked her to apologise to her friend.
"Gal pointed her finger in my face like a weapon. She asked me how I could do this, and that I needed to make this up to Ayala. She made me feel ashamed, that the whole event had been my fault, and that I had brought it upon myself by being so naïve," the annonymous user wrote.
While Medium has cleared their hands off this saying it “violated its policy” as the post named specific individuals, there was a defeaning silence from Gadot, aka Wonder Woman.
Many Twitter users are defending Gadot, pointing out that the timing of the post may not be coincidental. How do you even know this is real, many asked. Truth be told, we don’t. But does that mean we ignore the accusations completely? Should we not even blink an eye and ask Gadot the tough questions? Should our first instinct be to believe the woman?
We don’t know if this anonymous account is any more true than the countless people who have recently stepped forward to speak up about the abuse and sexual misconduct they have suffered at the hands of powerful men in Hollywood elites. But we believed them, didn’t we?
We shared the news of Gadot taking a stand in the Brett Ratner incident proudly, thinking aloud ‘You go, girl!’ So when the Medium piece started floating around, it was a dissappointment. Gadot has become a role model for many across the world. She’s a mother who has made a career in a tough industry. As cliched as it gets, she has broken the thick glass ceiling.
It is hard to find the faults in the ‘Wonder Woman’. After all, she kills the villians. She is powerful, she can fly and has magic bracelets. In fact, unlike other superheroes, she reforms the criminals into upright citizens as well.
But there’s one thing we need to remind ourselves. Gadot is not ‘Wonder Woman’. She is a human, like you and me. And, she is allowed to be flawed.
The accuser says that Gadot was 19 when the incident happened. “Gal told me about men who followed models around to casting calls. They were paid by clubs to convince models like us to join them at these clubs in exchange for expensive food, drinks, publicity photos, and VIP treatment. Gal told me to never trust these men, because they rape,” she wrote. Maybe Gadot was told all of this when she entered the industry, and in her own way she was trying to ensure her friend stays safe. At some point, we all fight that conditioning that made us believe it is our fault, we an get into trouble for wearing mini skirts and men are “like that only”. It’s hard work. And, it’s totally possible Gadot, being young, believed in all of that back then. A lot may have changed over the last 13 years. In a similar situation, Gadot may have behaved in a completely different manner and never say the things she said to this woman. Gadot has probably learned more about rape and the culture that permeates it since then.
But, that cannot be a reason to stay silent on the issue? If the allegations are indeed true, Gadot should own up to it. If it isn’t true, why isn’t Gadot or a member of her team coming forward to discredit them, and telling us what the truth is?
The allegations go against everything that Gadot is claiming to stand for. Whether true or not, remaining silent on it calls into question whether she truly believes in the cause, or if everything else is just all a show. In her silence, Gadot is letting us down. Her fans and fellow women.