Actress Gal Gadot attended the afterparty for her new film "The Runner" at the Harmony Gold Theater in Los Angeles on Thursday. Gadot, 41, was seen in a plunging red dress at the event, hours after appearing on the red carpet in a strapless navy blue gown for the film's premiere.
"The Runner" centers on a London lawyer who must race against time to save her abducted son. The film, distributed by Amazon MGM Studios, is set to be released on September 2.
Filming for "The Runner" began in London in April. However, production faced repeated disruptions from pro-Palestine activists who targeted Gadot due to her Israeli nationality. Gadot, who served in the Israel Defense Forces, has previously expressed support for Israel's actions in Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attacks, a stance that drew criticism from pro-Palestinian campaigners.
In May, the Metropolitan Police arrested five individuals at a filming site in Westminster for attempting to disrupt the production. Superintendent Neil Holyoak stated that the police have a duty to intervene when protests cross the line into serious disruption or criminality, emphasizing that harassment or unlawful interference with professional work would not be tolerated.
Activists had shared filming locations on social media and attempted to block access, with one poster urging activists to disrupt filming as they had done previously. Protests reportedly occurred over at least 20 days, with demonstrators chanting slogans such as "Gal Gadot, you can't hide" and displaying signs like "Trash Gadot not welcome in London."
A Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed that a recent operation followed weeks of similar disruptions attributed solely to Gadot's Israeli background. While Gadot did not publicly comment on the protests, her treatment drew condemnation. The Campaign Against Antisemitism criticized the sustained targeting of Gadot, calling it indicative of a broader hostile climate toward Jewish individuals in the UK. The campaign group welcomed the arrests, suggesting that financial costs might be motivating authorities to act against disruptions.
This experience contrasts with Gadot's previous filming in the UK, including "Wonder Woman 1984," which shot scenes in London in 2018 without incident. The recent disruptions unfolded against a backdrop of increasing concerns over antisemitism in Britain.