During these tumultuous times, everyone is looking for a form of escape. But a host of celebrities found out that empty gestures of inspiration aren’t exactly what the public had in mind after a cameo-filled cover of John Lennon’s famous anthem, “Imagine,” was roundly criticized across the internet.
The video, first posted by Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot, features celebrities like Zoë Kravitz, Will Ferrell, Amy Adams, Natalie Portman, James Marsden, Maya Rudolf, and more. Each star sings a line from the famous track with wide variances in their keys and levels of effort:
Although some enjoyed seeing their favorite stars in a moment of solidarity, others noted the relatively hollow nature of the video coming from a group of people collectively worth millions of dollars:
Lennon’s “Imagine” is often held up as a song of inspiration during difficult times. The 1971 song was written in response to the then-ongoing Vietnam War, and evokes a vision of communitarianism and world peace:
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world
You
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope some day you’ll join us
And the world will live as one
Lennon’s track has been covered hundreds of times by artists from many genres. It was even named one of the 100 most-performed songs of the 20th century by BMI. It’s often viewed as a song of global unity and has been performed at the opening or closing ceremonies of multiple Olympic Games and other international sporting tournaments and charity events.
In this case, however, “Imagine” has largely succeeded in uniting everyone against its performers.
Watch the celebrity cover above and catch up on all the lyrics to John Lennon’s “Imagine” on Genius now.
