MANILA, Philippines – Despite scoring an Oscar nomination for his performance in Barbie, actor Ryan Gosling lamented the omission of his co-star Margot Robbie and director Greta Gerwig in their respective categories. 

“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,” Gosling said in a statement released to US media on Wednesday, January 24. 

Barbie, the fantasy-comedy film about the doll’s female-empowering adventure, became the highest-grossing film of 2023, with over $1.4 billion at the worldwide box office. It secured eight Oscar nominations, including for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. 

While Gosling shared that he’s “incredibly honored and proud” to earn a nomination for “portraying a plastic doll named Ken,” the actor said that “no recognition would be possible for anyone” on Barbie without the “talent, grit, and genius” of Robbie and Gerwig.

Robbie was left out of the Best Actress category while Gerwig wasn’t included in the Best Director nominees. 

Gosling added that saying that he’s “disappointed” by the Oscar snubs “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 recognized along with the other very deserving nominees,” he continued. 

Although they weren’t recognized in their individual categories, both did still earn Oscar nominations – Gerwig for the adapted screenplay category and Robbie for best picture. Robbie was not only the lead star in the movie, but she was also a producer alongside Gerwig, who also co-wrote the film. 

To end his statement, Gosling also congratulated his fellow Barbie co-star America Ferrera, who was nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category.

Like Gosling, Ferrera also shared her own dismay about the nominations. 

In an interview with Variety, she said: “I was incredibly disappointed that they weren’t nominated.” She added that Gerwig “has done just about everything that a director could do to deserve it.” 

Ferrera was also all-praises for Robbie, saying that she’s a “magician as an actress” even without the Oscar nomination: “It was one of the honors of my career to get to witness her pull off the amazing performance she did. She brings so much heart and humor and depth and joy and fun to the character.” 

As of writing, both Robbie and Gerwig have yet to issue their statements regarding the Oscars nominations. 

Oppenheimer led the Oscars 2024 nominees, with 13 nods. It was followed by Poor Things, which secured 11 nominations. The winners will be announced on March 10. – Rappler.com