Kaia Gerber has revealed that she unknowingly appeared in Gal Gadot's widely criticised Imagine video after agreeing to what she thought was a birthday message. Speaking on KISS UK's Do Not Disturb, the model and Bottoms actress said she had no idea the clip would become part of a star-studded lockdown singalong.
Six years after the video divided the internet, Gerber said she discovered the truth only when the finished montage appeared online during the COVID-19 lockdown. She initially thought John Lennon's 'Imagine' was simply making a comeback before spotting herself about a minute into the video.
Gerber Says She Had No Idea
'I want to clear the air on something really badly,' Gerber, 24, said during the interview. She explained that a friend she was staying with during the pandemic asked whether she would join a video requested by another friend. Gerber agreed without asking for further details because she believed the footage was being recorded for somebody's birthday.
The song they were asked to perform was John Lennon's 'Imagine', but that detail apparently did not raise any alarms. About a week later, Gerber saw Gadot's celebrity-filled video circulating online and initially assumed the song had coincidentally become popular again. 'I just did a birthday video singing "Imagine",' she remembered thinking before unexpectedly spotting herself roughly one minute into the montage.
Gerber appears in the video alongside Pretty Little Liars actress Ashley Benson and model and actress Cara Delevingne. Their section was included among clips featuring stars such as Natalie Portman, Zoë Kravitz, Pedro Pascal, Amy Adams, Mark Ruffalo, Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell.
Gerber was 18 when Gadot published the compilation on Instagram on 18 March 2020.
Her Accidental First Credit
Gerber's account clarifies that she was not involved in planning the project and did not know Gadot would use the clip.
She said she discovered her participation at the same time as the public, rather than knowingly joining the line-up of celebrities.
Her explanation also answers a question that had followed her since viewers noticed her brief appearance with Benson and Delevingne.
The model found one lasting, if unexpected, consequence of the misunderstanding. Gerber joked that the viral singalong became her first listed IMDb credit, despite her having no idea she was making something intended for public release. 'I've accepted it. We're moving past it, but I would just like to clear the air that I did not know,' she said. 'I thought I was making a video for someone's birthday.'
From Runways To Acting Roles
Long before the accidental credit, Gerber was already establishing her own name in fashion. The daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford and businessman Rande Gerber entered modelling as a child, appearing in a Versace childrenswear campaign at 10.
She made her runway debut at 16 and quickly began walking for major fashion houses including Chanel, Prada, Saint Laurent, Valentino and Miu Miu.
Gerber's rise accelerated when she received the Model of the Year prize at the 2018 Fashion Awards. She has since appeared in campaigns for brands including Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Givenchy and Omega, while also working with designers such as Karl Lagerfeld and Sarah Burton.
Her resemblance to Crawford has remained part of her public profile, but her runway work, editorial covers and luxury campaigns have given Gerber a substantial fashion career of her own.
She has also steadily expanded into acting, appearing in The Shards, Babylon, Bottoms and American Horror Story. Gerber is now combining both sides of her career, moving between fashion campaigns, red carpets, television and film projects.
The revelation about Imagine adds an unusual footnote to that journey: one of her earliest screen credits came from a video she did not realise she was making.
