In her Time profile for the magazine’s annual Women of the Year list, published on Wednesday, Greta Gerwig broke her silence on her surprising Barbie Oscars snub for best director, as well as Robbie’s omission from the best actress category.
“Of course I wanted it for Margot,” said Gerwig. “But I’m just happy we all get to be there together.” The filmmaker pointed out that while she and Robbie didn’t get individual nominations, Barbie is up for eight Oscars, including best adapted screenplay and best picture. “A friend’s mom said to me, ‘I can’t believe you didn’t get nominated,” recalled Gerwig. “I said, ‘But I did. I got an Oscar nomination.’ She was like, ‘Oh, that’s wonderful for you!’ I was like, ‘I know!’”
Earlier this month, Robbie commented on the snubs while speaking with the Los Angeles Times, sharing a response similar to Gerwig’s. “As a producer and her actor, would I have loved to see Greta nominated for directing? Of course,” she said. “But she did become the first director to have their first three solo directorial efforts nominated for best picture, which is pretty historic. She cracked the code on this film, as only she could. It is such a singular vision, and Greta brought so much humanity, creativity, inspiration, magic and joy to Barbie. And it’s because of her we’ve all received such acclaim.”
While Barbie became the biggest movie of 2023, making history as the highest-grossing film made by a woman, the Academy Awards failed to recognize Gerwig in the category of best director. Margot Robbie, who starred as Barbie, also didn’t receive a best actress nomination; instead, her co-star Ryan Gosling was nominated in the best supporting actor category. Though America Ferrera was included in the nominations for best supporting actress, many Barbie fans — from Michelle Yeoh to Hillary Clinton — decried the seemingly sexist snubs.
When the Oscar nominations were announced, Gosling stood by Gerwig and Robbie, noting in a statement, “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. 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.”