ROW OVER BARBIE SNUB RAGES ON

LOS ANGELES. — Actor Ryan Gosling has said he is “disappointed” that Barbie’s Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie were snubbed in major Oscar nomination categories.

Gosling said he was “honoured” to be nominated for best supporting actor 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.”

Many had expected Gerwig and Robbie to be nominated in the best director and best actress categories respectively.

But there were nods for the two elsewhere. Robbie was recognised as a producer in the best picture line-up, while Gerwig was nominated alongside her husband Noah Baumbach for best adapted screenplay.

Barbie was the highest-grossing film of 2023, taking $1.44bn (£1.14bn) worldwide.

In a statement to CBS, the BBC’s US media partner, Gosling said: “I am extremely honoured to be nominated by my colleagues alongside such remarkable artists in a year of so many great films”.

At the same time, the Canadian actor described Gerwig and Robbie as “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.”