Actor Ryan Gosling is speaking out after his "Barbie" costar Margot Robbie didn't receive an Oscar nomination for her role as Barbie — nor did Greta Gerwig, the director who brought the film to life.
Gosling, who played Ken, received a nomination for best supporting actor.
"I am extremely honored to be nominated by my colleagues alongside such remarkable artists in a year of so many great films," Gosling said in a statement to CBS News. "And I never thought I'd be saying this, but I'm also incredibly honored and proud that it's for portraying a plastic doll named Ken. 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."
"Barbie" made a whopping $1.4 billion in global sales last year, making it the highest-grossing film of 2023.
The movie was one that preached female empowerment, women living in a "man's world," and that left the message that women can do anything a man can do; so it caused quite the public stir when the actor behind Ken — not Barbie — got the Oscar nod. Robbie was left off the list for best actress, and Gerwig's name was absent from the list of nominees for best director.
"To say that I'm disappointed that they are not nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement," Gosling said in his statement. "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."
Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros. Pictures via AP
America Ferrera, who received much praise for her role as a Mattel employee named Gloria, received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.
Of Ferrera's nomination, Gosling said he was "so happy" for his costar.
The actress said at first she couldn't believe the news.
"There was a moment where I wasn't sure if I had made it up," Ferrera told Variety. "And then my phone started blowing up so I figured that I must have heard it right."
"I still haven't really been able to get in my feelings because I'm still on like the top layer of 'I can't even believe that this is real,'" she said.
Ferrera also shared similar sentiments as Gosling about Robbie and Gerwig's snubs.
"I was incredibly disappointed that they weren't nominated," Ferrera said.
As a whole, the "Barbie" film racked up eight Oscar nominations, including for best picture.
Did the Academy Awards snub 'Barbie' star, director?
"Barbie" was the No. 1 box office hit of 2023, yet the film's director is not among the five considered for best director.
