Lebanon bans live-action Snow White due to presence of Israeli actress Gal Gadot

Disney’s live-action Snow White has been banned from playing in cinemas across Lebanon due to the inclusion of Israeli actress Gal Gadot.

Lebanon’s Interior Minister Ahmad Al-Hajjar ordered the ban. According to local media, the move was prompted by the country’s film and media watchdog during Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon. The warfare has led to civilian deaths.

A representative from Italia Films, a Beirut-based Middle East distributor, said that Gadot has been on Lebanon’s “Israel boycott list” for a while now, with no movie featuring the actor playing in the country. The same representative also clarified that Snow White has not been banned in Kuwait.

Gadot was born in Israel, and thus served mandatory service in the Israel Defense Forces. She’s been clear about her support of the country following the October 7 attacks by Hamas.

“Never did I imagine that on the streets of the United States, and different cities around the world, we would see people not condemning Hamas, but celebrating, justifying and cheering on a massacre of Jews,” she said on March 4 at the Anti-Defamation League’s annual summit in New York City.

Lebanon also prevented the screening of Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World due to the presence of Israeli actress Shira Haas.