As I said on Twitter yesterday, I was still reeling hours after the Oscar nominations came out. I expected many of the snubs – Andrew Scott really wasn’t a huge Best Actor contender, no one put any serious money behind Dominic Sessa, and it was clear from SAG’s May December snubs that the actors’ branch of the Academy felt that film hit too close to home. But the snubs for Margot Robbie in Best Actress and Greta Gerwig in Best Director are truly shocking. Those two snubs and the backlash to the Academy’s decision-making have become a pretty big pop culture story. Average people who don’t even pay attention to the awards season are reacting to the sexism of it all. Worse yet, the toxic right-wingers are declaring victory because of the snubs.
There are always Oscar snubs. But this one is striking the media as particularly egregious: Greta Gerwig wasn’t nominated for best director for Barbie — a film that was not only the biggest hit of the year and helped to bring moviegoers back to cinema with the success of “Barbenheimer,” but was also nominated for best picture and, by any measure, was a very tricky project to pull off. In addition, Barbie star Margot Robbie was snubbed for best actress, while Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera were nominated for supporting. People have thoughts.
“Both Gerwig and Robbie ignored … it’s still so easy for Hollywood to overlook and discount artistic contributions of women — EVEN WHEN ITS THE POINT OF THE YEAR’S BIGGEST MOVIE!” wrote MSNBC host Jennifer Palmieri. “My God. It was nominated for best picture. Didn’t direct itself, friends!”
“The joke I made to my wife walking out of BARBIE: ‘Watch Gosling get nominated and Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie get shut out’ … just happened,” wrote sports host Joey Wright. “The Academy needs a REAL man in the mirror moment because the whole idea and premise of Barbie completely flew over their heads.”
“Greta Gerwig’s omission is crazily wrong,” wrote author Kurt Andersen. “Could’ve easily been in place of Scorsese, nominated for a film that isn’t even one of his own ten best.”
“Greta Gerwig snubbed for Best Director?” wrote TV host Julie Stewart-Binks. “How is this even possible? Margot Robbie not nominated, but Ryan Gosling is? Did anyone even understand the plot of the highest grossing movie of all-time?”
“After Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie made a film about patriarchy that generated a billion dollars for Hollywood, the man in the film got nominated for a major award and I’m honestly not sure what I expected,” wrote columnist Brandon Friedman.
While some right wingers seemed to celebrate the snubs. U.K. columnist Eilis O’Hanlon wrote, “That Ryan Gosling was nominated for #BarbieMovie at the Oscars, but not Margot Robbie, actually confirms what many people who watched the film spotted at the time — the film is really about Ken, it’s his story. Blame Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach for it, not the Academy!” And British podcaster Connor Tomlinson wrote, “Kenergy claims its final victory over Feminism.”
Gerwig was also nominated for best adapted screenplay with co-writer Noah Baumbach, though that’s received criticism, too. Many felt the Barbie script should be categorized as an original screenplay, as Barbie is “adapted” only so much as, yes, the dolls exist.
I haven’t even waded into the “adapted screenplay” discourse, but yes, that’s asinine too – they’re treating Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach’s completely original, needle-threading, Feminism 101 script like it was “adapted” from other material because… dolls. Seriously!! As for the backlash… yeah, I see some contrarians smugly declare that Gerwig and Robbie “didn’t deserve” nominations or that “Barbie wasn’t even good” or that this is all some kind of white-feminist discourse. Yes, Gerwig and Robbie are white and yes, several artists of color were also snubbed. But if you can’t see how utterly misogynistic and close-minded these snubs are, I can’t help you. It speaks to the larger issues with AMPAS voters – instead of playing a game of whataboutism, try “yes and.” Yes, Oscars So White AND Oscars So Sexist.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images, Warner Bros/Barbie.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JULY 09: Director/Writer/EP Greta Gerwig attends the World Premiere of “Barbie” at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall on July 09, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.,Image: 788399692, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Greta Gerwig, Credit line: Jeffrey Mayer / Avalon
Greta Gerwig attends ‘ Barbie ‘ – European Premiere at Cineworld Leicester Square in London, UK. Monday 12th July 2023. -,Image: 788877457, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NORESTRICTIONS, Model Release: no, Pictured: ‘ Barbie ‘ – European Premiere, Credit line: James Warren / Bang Showbiz / Avalon 
Sydney, AUSTRALIA – Australian pink carpet premiere of the Barbie movie in Sydney. Pictured: Greta Gerwig, Issa Rae, Margot Robbie, America Ferrera BACKGRID USA 30 JUNE 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: Marc Skinner / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
‘Barbie’ photocall at the Four Seasons Hotel. Featuring: Margot Robbie Where: Mexico City, Mexico When: 07 Jul 2023 Credit: Carlos Tischler/EyePix/INSTARimages 
European premiere of ‘Barbie’ at Cineworld Leicester Square in London. Featuring: Margot Robbie Where: London, United Kingdom When: 12 Jul 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY** 
Photocall for ‘Barbie’ after the premiere at Cineworld Leicester Square in London. Featuring: America Ferrera, Simu Liu, Margot Robbie, Issa Rae, Ryan Gosling and Greta Gerwig Where: London, United Kingdom When: 12 Jul 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZmcW1kaYJ2e8yaqaCnpJS%2FsK7BopyYn6KawaKrxp6psKGXqKywv8KaqZirnqqvtKvHmq2el5KasLC5xJiYmJqZnKyxu8%2BYmq6kpKq%2FpqvMqKSepqRk