Gal Gadot says Wonder Woman U.N. ambassador controversy is 'not fair'

Wonder Woman earned a gigantic recognition in October when the United Nations named the superhero an honorary ambassador for the empowerment of women and girls. Less than two months later, the international organization ended the Wonder Woman campaign last week following backlash from people criticizing her uniform.

In a new TIME feature on the heroine, Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot expressed her surprise at the controversy.

“There are so many horrible things that are going on in the world, and this is what you’re protesting, seriously?” the Israeli actress told TIME. “When people argue that Wonder Woman should ‘cover up,’ I don’t quite get it. 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?”

After Wonder Woman’s honorary ambassador announcement, a petition asking the U.N. to reconsider earned nearly 45,000 signatures. The petition called for a real-life feminist role model and criticized the character as “overtly sexualized.”

Since stepping into Diana Prince’s boots, Gadot has spoken out in support of feminism on several occasions. “I think people take it the wrong way when I say I’m a feminist,” she told TIME. “Feminism is not about burning bras and hating men. It’s about gender equality. Whoever is not a feminist is a chauvinist.”

Read the TIME feature to learn more about Wonder Woman’s history, her evolution, and the upcoming movie, which opens June 2, 2017.