Simu Liu addresses awkward moment with co-star Ryan Gosling on Barbie red carpet

Actor Simu Liu is setting the record straight after an awkward moment with Ryan Gosling on the Barbie red carpet went viral.

Simu Liu is setting the record straight on his awkward interaction with Ryan Gosling on the Barbie red carpet.

Liu, 34, shared an Instagram Story photo Thursday showing himself and Gosling, 42, smiling in pastel ensembles.

“I’d beach off with this Kenadian again in a heartbeat,” the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings told his followers.

Liu went on to reference Gosling’s viral brush-off, writing, “He is the best human in every way, especially when he jokes around with us on the carpet and on set, infecting all of us with his kenergy.”

He concluded his post with a plea for social media users to “get back to the issues that matter, like supporting our striking actors and writers fighting for fair wages”.

Simu Liu addressed his awkward Ryan Gosling red carpet encounter on Instagram. Picture: Simu Liu/Instagram

Gosling has yet to address footage of himself rejecting his fellow actor’s arm around his waist while doing press in Toronto in June.

At the time, Liu backed off, saying, “You don’t what – oh, it’s too tender? Fair enough.”

Barbie fans had mixed feelings about the exchange, with one theorising that the rebuff was actually a way to emphasise their characters’ rivalry in the film.

“I think [they’re] playing like they hate each other cause they are in competition with each other in the movie,” the Twitter user wrote. “It ain’t that deep.”

Another, however, tweeted that they would “never show [their] face again” after the perceived slight from the La La Land star.

Barbie, in which Gosling and Liu both play Kens, hit cinemas last Thursday.

Margot Robbie leads the film, telling SiriusXM’s Jess Cagle earlier this month that she had bribed Gosling with gifts to take on the sidekick role.

“I promised Ryan a present every day if he did the movie,” the actress, 33, recalled. “Then when he did do the movie, I was like, ‘Oh, s**t. I gotta get so many presents.’”

Simu Liu and Ryan Gosling played Kens on Barbie alongside Margot Robbie. Picture: Warner Bros

Gosling confessed to Jimmy Fallon in a July 2022 interview that his and Eva Mendes’ daughters — Esmeralda, 8, and Amada, 7 — finally convinced him to play Ken when he saw how they treated the “accessory”.

“I walked out in the backyard and do you know where I found Ken? Face down in the mud next to a squished lemon,” he explained last year.

The Oscar nominee said he subsequently sent a photo of Ken and the fruit to director Greta Gerwig, proclaiming, “I shall be your Ken for his story must be told.”

This article originally appeared in Page Six and was reproduced with permission