Whoopi Goldberg Has Strong Feelings About The Barbie Oscar Snubs
Oscar nominations are out, but much of the online discussion hasn't been about who received recognition. As is the case every year, people have thoughts on who they think got snubbed, and this time around, the two biggest snubs being discussed are Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig missing out on best actress and best director nominations for "Barbie." One person who isn't losing sleep over this debate is Oscar-winner Whoopi Goldberg.
The hosts of "The View" brought up the snubs, with Alyssa Farah Griffin kicking things off by saying, "Did they miss the whole moral of the story of 'Barbie?' Of course, we celebrate just Ken, not the woman who's the lead in it and the icon in it." This is in reference to Ryan Gosling getting a best supporting actor nomination for the same movie. However, Goldberg pushed back on that assertion, clarifying that "everybody doesn't win." She elaborated that there can only be so many nominees, so people may not see their favorites represented. "There are no snubs," she concluded. "That's what you have to keep in mind: Not everybody gets a prize, and it is subjective. Movies are subjective. The movies you love may not be loved by the people who are voting."
"Barbie" did secure eight Oscar nominations, including best picture. And Robbie and Gerwig could still be winners come Oscar night, with Robbie up for that best picture award for her work as a producer and Gerwig in contention for best adapted screenplay along with co-writer Noah Baumbach.
Everyone from Ryan Gosling to Hillary Clinton have weighed in
Discussions of Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig getting snubbed are all the rage right now. Ryan Gosling got candid in a statement about how "there is no Ken without Barbie, and there is no Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie." Even former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton voiced her opinion on the matter on X, formerly known as Twitter: "While it can sting to win the box office but not take home the gold, your millions of fans love you. You're both so much more than Kenough." There are a lot of feelings on both sides of the discourse, and there are myriad discussion points to make, from the Academy failing to give comedies their due to how female directors have to work so much harder to earn a best director nomination.
However, while there was plenty of backlash upon learning about the snubs, there's now backlash to that backlash, with more people taking Whoopi Goldberg's point of view. X and TikTok are filled with people offering more nuanced perspectives on the matter, such as TikToker @eleanor.stern, who said, "It's weird to act like it's a loss for feminism that Ryan Gosling got nominated instead of [Margot Robbie] because the category is best actress ... All that happened is that a different woman got nominated instead of Margot Robbie."
Others have discussed how the "Barbie" snub discussion has distracted from genuine wins for feminism within the Oscar nominations, such as Lily Gladstone being the first Native American woman nominated for best actress. The Academy Awards still have a long way to go in terms of inclusion, but it's essential to recognize steps forward when they occur.