Ryan Gosling says he's "extremely honoured" to have been nominated, but noted there's "no Ken without Barbie". Photo / Getty Images
Ryan Gosling says he's "extremely honoured" to have been nominated, but noted there's "no Ken without Barbie". Photo / Getty Images
He might be “just Ken”, but one thing about Ryan Gosling? He’s always going to stand up for Barbie.
Mere hours after the 2024 Oscar nominations were released, revealing Margot Robbie was snubbed in the Best Actress category for Barbie and Greta Gerwig was snubbed for Best Director, despite Gosling’s nod for Best Supporting Actor, the star has spoken out.
Confessing he is “extremely honoured” by the nomination, he said there is “no Ken without Barbie” and shared his disappointment over the Academy’s decision.
“I am extremely honoured to be nominated by my colleagues alongside such remarkable artists in a year of so many great films. And I never thought I’d being saying this, but I’m also incredibly honoured and proud that it’s for portraying a plastic doll named Ken,” his statement to the New York Post read.
Ryan Gosling just released a statement that directly calls out this morning’s Gerwig and Robbie snubs in best director and best actress: pic.twitter.com/gf5vQI5Z0c
He continued, “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. 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.
“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.”
Gosling did not confirm whether he will be attending the awards show on March 11.
Ryan Gosling has spoken out following the surprise snubs of Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie. Photo / Getty Images
Robbie and Gerwig are yet to speak out about their respective snubs.
The snubbing of the pair wasn’t the only surprise in this year’s nominations. Elsewhere, Leonardo DiCaprio was excluded from the Best Actor category for Killers of the Flower Moon despite his co-stars receiving nominations - Lily Gladstone had her first Academy nomination for Best Actress and Hollywood alum Robert De Niro was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. The film itself is up for Best Picture.
Emerald Fennell’s much-talked-about Saltburn was left out from the Best Picture category, as were Ben Affleck’s Air, Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, Paul King’s Wonka and Sean Durkin’s The Iron Claw.
As it stands, Oppenheimer leads the 96th annual Academy Awards with 13 nominations, followed by Poor Things (11) and Killers of the Flower Moon (10).
The Oscars will take place on March 11 at 1pm (NZT) and will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.
