“Barbie” pulled in a whopping eight Oscar nominations on Tuesday morning, but there were two categories noticeably missing from that list. Both star Margot Robbie and director Greta Gerwig were snubbed by the Academy in the Best Actress and Best Directing categories respectively — and fans are displeased, to say the least.
Within moments of the categories being announced, X erupted with outrage. Many immediately pointed to the critical and box office success of the film as proof that the women deserved nods, especially in a year where Hollywood effectively shut down for months.
“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,” one person wrote. “But no Best Director nom?!”
“Barbie” does mark a major achievement for Gerwig, as its Best Picture nomination makes her the first director ever to have their first three solo directorial feature films nominated for Best Picture.
Others took issue with the fact that the Best Directing category only named one woman as a nominee — despite the fact that three of this year’s Best Picture nominees were directed by women — a trend that seems to happen nearly every year, if a woman is chosen at all. (Though it’s worth noting that there were two female directors nominated in the category in 2021).
“Greta Gerwig made feminist ideals completely digestible for the MASSES so of course she wouldn’t be nominated by the Academy—which has given the award to three women in its entire 96 years—for best director,” one user wrote.
Many were particularly angry at the fact that Ryan Gosling, who starred as Ken in the film, did get a nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Though fans conceded that the performance itself is worthy of the accolade, they argued that the recognition of Gosling was a perfect illustration of the entire point of “Barbie,” in how hard it is to simply exist in the world, let alone succeed in it, as a woman.
“Completely proving the point of the movie in 20 f—ing 24, you cannot make this up,” one person posted.
You can see the full list of Oscar nominees here, and you can see more outrage over the snubs below.
