By Nell Geraets
Ryan Gosling has slammed the Oscars for shutting out Margot Robbie in the category of best actress, and Greta Gerwig in the director’s category, following the Academy’s nominations announcement on Wednesday.
“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,” he said in a statement after the nominations were revealed.
Ryan Gosling has slammed the Oscars for shutting out Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig in two of the Oscars’ biggest categories.Credit: AP
Barbie, which has so far grossed over $2 billion worldwide, earned eight Oscar nominations in total, including a nod for best picture. Gosling, who starred alongside Robbie as the hilariously lovable Ken, received a nomination for best supporting actor and America Ferrera earned a nod for best supporting actress.
However, Robbie, who co-produced and starred in the film, and Gerwig were left off the list, despite various trade outlets predicting the pair would receive recognition in two of the Academy Awards’ biggest categories.
Confidence in the women only solidified following their success in the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Award nominations earlier this year. Gerwig also landed recognition at the Directors Guild of America Awards, often considered a critical precursor to the Oscars.
Robbie was nominated as a producer for the film in the best picture category and Gerwig was placed in the running for best adapted screenplay.
‘To say that I’m disappointed that [Robbie and Gerwig] are not nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement.’
Barbie star Ryan Gosling
“No recognition would be possible for anyone on the film without their talent, grit and genius. To say that I’m disappointed that they are not nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement,” Gosling said.
“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 recognised 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.”
Fellow Barbie star Ferrera also spoke out against the Academy’s decision to omit Robbie and Gerwig for their respective categories.
“I was incredibly disappointed that they weren’t nominated,” she told Variety on Wednesday. “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.
Director Greta Gerwig and actor Margot Robbie missed out on two major nominations at the Oscars.Credit: Getty Images
As for Robbie, Ferrera described her as a “master”.
“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.”
Gunning for best lead actress this year is Annette Bening (Nyad), Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon), Sandra Huller (Anatomy of a Fall), Carey Mulligan (Maestro) and Emma Stone (Poor Things).
Meanwhile, the directors’ category is largely dominated by men: Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon), Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer), Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things), Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest) and Justine Triet (Anatomy of a Fall).
Though Barbie did not perform as well as some expected, it could still take home a number of awards for categories like best costume design, best production design, best writing for an adapted screenplay, and best original song (for which it received two nods, one for I’m Just Ken and the other for What Was I Made For?).
This year marks Gosling’s third Oscar nomination, after two previous nods for Half Nelson (2006) and La La Land (2016). Despite his disappointment over the snubs, he noted how honoured he was to have been nominated alongside such “remarkable artists in a year of so many great films”.
He will go up against Sterling K. Brown (American Fiction), Robert De Niro (Killers of the Flower Moon), Robert Downey Jr. (Oppenheimer) and Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things) for best supporting actor.
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