Who’d a thought a movie about Barbie the doll would ever have its own awards page on Wikipedia? Certainly not Oliver Stone. On Tuesday last year’s biggest cinematic money-gobbler added a bunch more honors to its pile, amassing eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. Alas, it missed out on two biggies, one for director Greta Gerwig and another for star Margot Robbie. (For what it’s worth, both were nominated in other categories.) The snubs prompted instant outrage. On Wednesday even a former FLOTUS and presidential candidate joined the angry mob.
Greta & Margot,
While it can sting to win the box office but not take home the gold, your millions of fans love you.
You’re both so much more than Kenough.#HillaryBarbie
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) January 24, 2024
Per The Daily Beast, no less than Hillary Clinton weighed in on the omissions. “Greta & Margot,” she wrote on Twiter/X. “While it can sting to win the box office but not take home the gold, your millions of fans love you. You’re both so much more than Kenough.”
After Gerwig and Robbie’s names were AWOL from the Oscar nominations, not only did fans voice their displeasure. So did fellow Barbie alumni, even fellow performers. America Ferrera and Ryan Gosling, both of whom scored noms, spoke out, as did — why not! — John Stamos, who went so far as to do a weird re-enactment of one of its scenes.
Back in 2018, Gerwig became only the fifth woman ever nominated for the Best Director Oscar, for her solo directorial feature debut Lady Bird. The actress/filmmaker wasn’t nominated for her follow-up, the 2019 take on Little Women, which also led to similar backlash. Gerwig is nominated this year alongside her cowriter/now-husband Noah Baumbach in the Adapted Screenplay category. Robbie, meanwhile, is one of the film’s producers, which means her name is on the Best Picture nomination.
The 2024 Academy Awards are set to unfold on March 11.
(Via The Daily Beast)