Barbie’s Ryan Gosling addresses Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie’s Oscar snubs: ‘There is no Ken without Barbie’

Ryan Gosling has said he’s “disappointed” that Barbie director Greta Gerwig and lead actor Margot Robbie were both overlooked by the 2023 Oscar nominations.

The award-winning movie has been nominated for eight Oscars, including Gosling for Best Supporting Actor, America Ferrera for Best Supporting Actress, as well as Best Picture.

But Gerwig and Robbie were not included in respective Best Director and Actress nominations. 

In a recent statement following his nomination, the actor said that he’s “incredibly honoured and proud” that he received the nod “for portraying a plastic doll named Ken”. However, he acknowledged that he wouldn’t be in that position without the genius of Gerwig and Robbie. 

He said: “But there is no Ken without Barbie, and there is no Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two people most responsible for this history-making, globally-celebrated film.

“No recognition would be possible for anyone on the film without their talent, grit, and genius,” he continued. “To say that I’m disappointed that they are not nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement.”

“Against all odds with nothing but a couple of soulless, scantily clad, and thankfully crotchless dolls, they made us laugh, they broke our hearts, they pushed the culture and they made history. Their work should be recognized along with the other very deserving nominees.

“Having said that, I am so happy for America Ferrera and the other incredible artists who contributed their talents to making this such a groundbreaking film,” he concluded.

Ferrera also shared her thoughts about the lead actor-producer and the director being overlooked, adding that she was “incredibly disappointed that they weren’t nominated”. 

In an interview with Variety, Ferrera said: “Greta has done just about everything that a director could do to deserve it. Creating this world, and taking something that didn’t have inherent value to most people and making it a global phenomenon. It feels disappointing to not see her on that list.”

Speaking about Robbie’s snub, she added: “What Margot achieved as an actress is truly unbelievable. One of the things about Margot as an actress is how easy she makes everything look. And perhaps people got fooled into thinking that the work seems easy, but Margot is a magician as an actress in front of the screen, and it was one of the honours of my career to get to witness her pull off the amazing performance she did.

“She brings so much heart and humour and depth and joy and fun to the character. In my book, she’s a master.”