Despite Barbie landing a Best Picture nomination for this year’s Oscars, the Academy made the wild decision to snub both the film’s star, Margot Robbie, and its director Greta Gerwig. You better believe people have thoughts.
Barbie instantly became a pop culture juggernaut after premiering over the summer to record-breaking box office numbers. As the titular character, Robbie anchored the entire film. As not just the director, but also the writer, Gerwig infused Barbie with all of the heart and soul that made an instant classic, and again, a contender for Best Picture. No recognition for either woman, and people immediately took to social media to voice their thoughts.
You can see the reactions to Margot Robbie’s snub below:
So Ryan Gosling’s nominated for playing ken but Margot Robbie isn’t nominated for playing barbie… in barbie #Oscars
— poppy ☾ (@scddevereaux) January 23, 2024
Margot Robbie you deserved so much better I’m sorry pic.twitter.com/Kn5RR97pQB
— ً (@meradceu) January 23, 2024
margot robbie snubbed at the oscars for “best actress” is crazy, they can’t be serious pic.twitter.com/zBVrs8xwiZ
— 𝗙𝗔
𝗜𝗢ᴺᴹ (@FABIOTHEBARB) January 23, 2024
what the fuck do you mean ryan gosling got nominated but margot robbie didn’t pic.twitter.com/0VzEVgXBcF
— chase. (@cfree94) January 23, 2024
Me discovering that Margot Robbie was not nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of Barbie pic.twitter.com/TB3CVroxdZ
— socialist sopranos memes (@gabagoolmarx) January 23, 2024
This Margot Robbie snub will not be forgotten pic.twitter.com/vP9nHk76AU
— Jackie S (@jackiestoy4) January 23, 2024
And here are the fiery thoughts on Gerwig below:
Greta Gerwig made a film that was critically acclaimed, culturally impactful, hilarious, unique, visually exceptional, perfectly cast and acted, left people laughing, crying and thinking AND made a billion dollars at the box office. But no Best Director nom?! #Barbie #Oscars2024 pic.twitter.com/ePfuiDbEfm
— Leigh Lewallen (@leighlew3) January 23, 2024
Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie snubbed…I’m not well. pic.twitter.com/FI4pNyaUvL
— JB
(@JBfromDC89) January 23, 2024
not nominating greta gerwig for best director literally indicates that the academy has turned their back on what audiences want to see. such a lovingly and brilliantly-directed film. shame on you for real.
— Chandler Levack (@clevack) January 23, 2024
No Greta Gerwig or Margot Robbie? pic.twitter.com/i9m9uIqCft
— Sarah Carlson (@sarahkcarlson) January 23, 2024
Greta Gerwig is now 2/2 with films with 6+ nominations each, including best screenplay & best picture but no directing nom. This a is really disappointing trend to see continue for female directors
— stoobs (@thejstoobs) January 23, 2024
In an interesting (and infuriating) wrinkle, Ryan Gosling was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Ken. People couldn’t help but notice the irony of the male performance being recognized while Robbie and Gerwig were snubbed. The whole situation is literally the theme of Barbie, and the furious reactions only got more heated as reality set in:
No nomination for Margot Robbie or Greta Gerwig for the #Oscars but Ryan Gosling gets one. Literally the whole point of the Barbie film
pic.twitter.com/SVpX6diGJb
— Joe (@joeefoster) January 23, 2024
Ken getting nominated and not Barbie is honestly so fitting for a film about a man discovering the power of patriarchy in the Real World.
— Michael. (@yosoymichael) January 23, 2024
Nominating Ken but not Barbie is so on the nose it hurts.
— itsonlyzach (@itsonlyzach) January 23, 2024
Wait Ryan Gosling got nominated for his role as Ken, but Margot Robbie didn’t get nominated for Barbie?! And Greta got snubbed for Best Director?!?!
Way to justify the literal plot of the movie @TheAcademy
#Oscars2024 pic.twitter.com/6MEHaSeTjZ
— Shirleigh (@ShirleighShirlz) January 23, 2024
Nominating Ken but not Barbie for “Barbie” should be the plot of
Barbie 2: Did We Learn Nothing. #Oscars2024— Brooke Preston (@bigu) January 23, 2024
While Robbie and Gerwig’s snubs quickly became trending topics, Twitter users also made sure to call out performances from Greta Lee, Andrew Scott, and Charles Melton, which also went unrecognized by the Academy. It was a contentious set of nominations this year, to say the least.
You can see more Oscar snub reactions below:
The Greta Lee snub, the Margot Robbie snub, the Charles Melton snub, the Julianne Moore and NATALIE PORTMAN snub #Oscars2024 pic.twitter.com/jtoyumjIWr
— cam hump (@Cameron_Hump) January 23, 2024
crazy to nominate Past Lives for a bunch of great awards and completely exclude Greta Lee, the performer who thoughtfully carries the whole thing
— Houston Coley (@artwithinpod) January 23, 2024
margot robbie robbed two years in a row, all of us strangers and andrew scott snubbed, no acting noms for may december, nothing for saltburn… pic.twitter.com/U5MmxKLgmK
— alex (@barnescevans) January 23, 2024
The snubs for Greta Lee, Teo Yoo and Charles Melton really sting after a banner year for Asian actors at the Oscars just one year ago pic.twitter.com/xebQWtZLLD
— Ryan Aguirre (@aguirreryan) January 23, 2024
I know the word “snub” is so overused when it comes to the Oscars, but…dang, Andrew Scott, Greta Lee, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and Ben Whishaw deserved so much better, and it’s absolutely heartbreaking that we won’t see any of them on Oscars night pic.twitter.com/nWjJtwzFsj
— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) January 23, 2024
margot robbie, natalie portman and greta lee would all have made better noms than annette bening no one even knows what a nyad is pic.twitter.com/sEBAjB0X6G
— siddhi (@tayvidbyrne) January 23, 2024
CHARLES MELTON ANDREW SCOTT ZAC EFRON GRETA LEE RACHEL MCADAMS I WILL AVENGE YOU pic.twitter.com/Ga5cmOEoSp
— ad (@goslingsfilms) January 23, 2024
The 96th Annual Academy Awards air March 10, 2024 on ABC.