Woke Mainstream Media Outlets Melt Down Over The Academy Snubbing ‘Barbie’ In The Best Actress And Best Director Categories While Nominating Ryan Gosling As Best Supporting Actor

Ryan Gosling as Ken in Barbie (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures
Ryan Gosling as Ken in Barbie (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures

Woke mainstream media outlets have been going on a pitiful and predictable tirade over the The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominations, which saw the Oscars snubbing Barbie in the Best Director and Best Actress categories.

Ken (Ryan Gosling) takes his mugshot in Barbie (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures
Ken (Ryan Gosling) takes his mugshot in Barbie (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures

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On Tuesday, the Academy made the Oscar nominations known to the public, revealing that neither director Greta Gerwig nor lead actress Margot Robbie were nominated for their work on Warner Bros.’ Barbie.

Rubbing even more salt on the open wound of woke mainstream media outlets crying over the Academy’s snubbing of Gerwig and Robbie, the film received eight nominations in total, including Barbie actors Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera in the Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress categories, respectively.

Margot Robbie as Stereotypical Barbie in Barbie (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures
Margot Robbie as Stereotypical Barbie in Barbie (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures

Other nominations received by the Gerwig-helmed film also include Costume Design, Music for the ‘I’m Just Ken’ song by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt as well as ‘What Was I Made For’ by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, Production Design, Writing (Adapted Screenplay,) and Best Picture.

Enter woke mainstream media outlets, who seemed to have taken offence to the Academy for having decided not to nominate Gerwig and Robbie in the Best Director and Best Actress categories — some even attempting to argue that box office success should equate to recognition of talent.

(center) SIMU LIU as Ken in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
(center) SIMU LIU as Ken in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Copyright: © 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. Photo Credit: Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

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The Los Angeles Times’ Glenn Whipp decries, “No! Not again!” attempting to argue, “Four years after being overlooked for her work behind the camera for “Little Women,” the academy’s directors branch again slighted Gerwig, this time for ‘Barbie.'”

“You’d think making a movie that grossed more than $1.4 billion in box office, earned ecstatic reviews and launched a thousand think pieces would have merited a nomination,” he added.

People Magazine’s Benjamin VanHoose wrote, “Greta Gerwig was left out of the Best Director category, while star Margot Robbie was absent from the Best Actress category,” further arguing, “Despite helming the No. 1 movie of the year at the box office, Gerwig, 40 was not recognized in the directing category.”

RYAN GOSLING as Ken and MARGOT ROBBIE as Barbie in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
RYAN GOSLING as Ken and MARGOT ROBBIE as Barbie in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Copyright: © 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Detroit Free Press’ Julie Hinds lamented that Barbie did not get as many nominations as Christopher Nolan’s critically praised Oppenheimer, which landed 13 nominations, declaring, “‘Oppenheimer’ leads the overall tally with 13 nods, followed by ‘Poor Things’ with 11 and ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ with 10.”

“But Oscar blew its chance to relive the 2023 faceoff that had us all excited about movies again by giving ‘Barbie’ only eight nominations. Barbenheimer, at least, deserved a nominations tie,” she regretted.

Hinds added, “While ‘Barbie’ is competing for best picture, the woman who embodied her, Margot Robbie, and the woman who led her, Greta Gerwig, are somehow missing from the actress and directing categories. Clearly, the next Mattel edition of the doll needs to be Oscar Voter Barbie.”

Margot Robbie as Stereotypical Barbie in Barbie (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures
Margot Robbie as Stereotypical Barbie in Barbie (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures

RELATED: Bill Maher Slams The ‘Barbie’ Movie, Calls It A “Preachy, Man-Hating, And A ZombieLie” Of A Film

NBC News’ Daysia Tolentino decried Margot Robbie not getting a nomination for Best Actress when her co-star Ryan Gosling was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, similarly lamenting Gerwig not being nominated for her role as the film’s director.

“‘Barbie’ took over the world last year, but Margot Robbie was locked out of the best actress race and Greta Gerwig did not make the cut in the best director category,” Tolentino prefaced, adding, “Margot Robbie was snubbed for her titular role in ‘Barbie’ when the 96th Academy Award nominees were announced Tuesday morning.”

“‘Barbie’ director Greta Gerwig was also shut out of the best director category,” she pointed out, noting, “The film scored eight nods total, including best picture and supporting actress (America Ferrera for her portrayal as Gloria).”

RYAN GOSLING as Ken in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
RYAN GOSLING as Ken in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “BARBIE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Copyright: © 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. Photo Credit: Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

‘But many called out academy voters online, noting the irony that Ryan Gosling was nominated in the best supporting actor category (even though he’s “just Ken”),” she added, though reporting on the reactions the news got on social media but also seemingly suggesting that the actor was not deserving of the nomination because he wasn’t playing the titular character with her “even though he’s ‘just Ken'” remark.

Pointing out that Barbie had been a box office hit last year, Scripp News wrote, “‘Barbie’ was the No. 1 box office hit of 2023, yet the film’s director is not among the five considered for Best Director,” later noting, “Gerwig’s rebuff was notable as she became the first woman to direct a film that collected over $1 billion at the box office.”

Ryan Gosling as Ken in Barbie (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures
Ryan Gosling as Ken in Barbie (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures

RELATED: ‘Barbie’ Star Simu Liu Says Film “Puts The Final Nail In The Coffin Of That Very Heteronormative Idea Of What Gender Is”

Aja Romano, Constance Grady, Kyndall Cunningham, and Rebecca Jennings for the far-left outlet Vox prefaced in their article, “The patriarchy is riding high for the 2024 Oscars — but not Charles Melton or the boys of Saltburn.”

“There were several major shutouts, most notably for Greta Gerwig, who despite directing the year’s biggest film was passed over for a directing nod for Barbie — though Barbie itself received a whopping eight nominations in total,” they noted. The irony isn’t lost on any woman paying attention.”

Margot Robbie as Stereotypical Barbie in Barbie (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures
Margot Robbie as Stereotypical Barbie in Barbie (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures

Cunningham declared, “Despite how egregious these Barbie snubs look, it’s maybe not a shock that Gosling was the safest bet when it came to Barbie’s Oscar chances. (His big number “I’m Just Ken” is also nominated for Best Original Song.)”

“Despite the film’s attempts to underscore Ken’s unimportance, the movie arguably gave the Drive actor a lot to do while being ripped and hot. Blame it on the power of a fine, goofy man, but also on industry sexism,” she added.

Margot Robbie as Stereotypical Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken in Barbie (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures
Margot Robbie as Stereotypical Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken in Barbie (2023), Warner Bros. Pictures

The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg noted that while some films like Oppenheimer and Poor Things managed to land double-digit nominations, “for many, those impressive showings were overshadowed by the lack of directing and lead actress nominations for Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, respectively, of Warner Bros.’ Barbie.”

He would later add, “though Gerwig and Robbie are nominated in other categories (for writing and producing), and though Barbie did receive eight nominations (including best picture), the optics of excluding the women most responsible for a critically acclaimed film that became the biggest blockbuster of 2023 from the directing and lead actress categories are not good.”

NEXT: ‘Yellowstone’ Star Kevin Costner Offers Praise To America Ferrera’s ‘Barbie’ Monologue At 2024 Golden Globes: “It’s An Important Message”

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