What to do when you’re a Chinese technology company with a name no one northwest of Xinjiang can pronounce? Hire the Israeli actress people still address as Gal Ga-DOUGH.
Huawei, earth’s third-largest smartphone (behind you, Apple and Samsung), not only hired Petah Tikva’s finest to promote its new Mate10 Pro phone in America, but also appointed Wonder Woman its first CEO, which, to those non-native English speakers among you, stands for Chief Experience Officer. Gadot, a Huawei spokeswoman said in a statement, will have “an active role” in shaping the company’s brands.
Meanwhile, Gadot’s main brand remains, of course, being a radiant Hollywood star, and, earlier this week, she delivered an award show speech for the ages at the Critics Choice Awards. Accepting the unimprovably named #SeeHer award, which is given to actresses who pushed boundaries in their work, Gadot was inspiring, political, and funny, a rare combination in gloomy and stern Tinseltown these days.
She got her biggest laugh for an anecdote Patty Jenkins, Wonder Woman’s director, had shared with her. “Someone told [Patty] that his three year old saw the movie and when the movie ended the boy said, ‘when I grow up, I want to be a woman!’ As artists and filmmakers I believe that it’s not only our job to entertain but our duty to inspire and educate for love and respect.”
You can watch Gadot’s speech here, but not before noting that her dress, designed by the Lebanese Elie Saab, sparked another international incident when infuriated folks across the Arab world denounced the designer for collaborating with the Israeli actress, widely believed in Lebanon to be a special agent of the Mossad.
Liel Leibovitz is editor-at-large for Tablet Magazine and a host of its weekly culture podcast Unorthodox and daily Talmud podcast Take One. He is the editor of Zionism: The Tablet Guide.