Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Gal Gadot Nixes Eurovision Gig

Ah, Eurovision. Or as I like to call it, the last bastion of international camp and kitsch. It’s a song contest, in which different countries of the world submit original songs to compete. These one hit wonder songs capture something of our time, something to which we cannot put a name to, a spirit of communal international ridiculousness that we thought globalism had destroyed. It’s also how Celine Dion entered the public eye.

The 2019 Eurovision Song Competition will be held in Israel, so who better to host it than Israel’s most recognizable celebrity? But Gal Gadot turned down the invitation, claiming scheduling conflicts. “She would have been happy to host and to take part in the Eurovision contest but unfortunately, due to scheduling and prior commitments it will not be possible,” Gadot’s PR folks told Hadashot news.

As per official Eurovision rules, the winner of the contest will host next year’s extravaganza in their home country. In 2018, Netta Barzilai won for Israel with the iconic song “Toy,” which also claims the dubious title of being the most watched Eurovision music video on YouTube.

In fact, in the prechorus of the song, Barzilai sings “Wonder Woman don’t you ever forget/You’re divine and he’s about to regret…” referencing the character behind Gadot’s meteoric rise to fame.

Does Gadot think she is too A-list to host the greatest event of modern times? Gal, it is time for a rethink!

[Shira Feder writes. She’s at [email protected]

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.