Gal Gadot still can't believe how much hubbub there is surrounding Wonder Woman.
The Israeli star, who first played the superhero in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and will reprise the role again in the first standalone film, and her onscreen persona were recently named an honorary ambassador to the U.N. Fictional characters such as Winnie the Pooh and Red from Angry Birds had received the honor, but sirens sounded when Wonder Woman was tapped.
More than 600 U.N. staffers signed a petition to remove Wonder Woman from the position, claiming "a large-breasted white woman of impossible proportions, scantily clad in a shimmery, thigh-baring body suit with an American flag motif and knee-high boots" was not an appropriate icon for Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women.
Gadot thinks there are more important issues to think about than Wonder Woman's hemline. "There are so many horrible things that are going on in the world, and this is what you're protesting, seriously?" she asks Time, rhetorically.
"When people argue that Wonder Woman should 'cover up,' I don't quite get it," she says. "They say, 'If she's smart and strong, she can't also be sexy.' That's not fair. Why can't she be all of the above?"
Facing intense pressure, the U.N. revoked Wonder Woman's ambassadorial privileges.
Gadot has spoken passionately about her role as Wonder Woman since she first received news that she got the job. Even more important than Wonder Woman making it to the big screen, however, is the fact that a woman is directing the very first standalone film.
"With Patty [Jenkins], it's a thing now, we communicate with our eyes. She doesn't need to say a thing," Gadot told Entertainment Weekly. "If I'm hurt, she feels the pain. It's a whole different connection that I have with her. She's also brilliant, she's bright, she's fierce, she's sharp. She knows exactly what she wants Wonder Woman to be.
"It's a story about a girl becoming a woman," Gadot added. "I think only a woman, who has been a girl, can be able to tell the story in the right way."