Eva Mendes is showing support for husband Ryan Gosling by addressing all the hate he initially received for his role as Ken in Barbie.
Though Gosling turned Ken into a beloved character around the globe with his Oscar-nominated performance and the hit song “I’m Just Ken,” some criticized him at first for stepping into the role of a doll.
Mendes shared one story published by Rolling Stone in June 2022 as an example. The article’s headline read, “Sorry to Be the One to Say It, but Ryan Gosling Is Giving Major Cringe as Ken in ‘Barbie.’”
In response, the actress and businesswoman wrote on Instagram on Wednesday, “So proud of my man. So much hate when he took on this role. So many people trying to shame him for doing it. Despite all the #Notmyken ridicule and articles written about him, he created this completely original, hilarious,heartbreaking, now iconic character and took it all the way to Oscars. So beyond proud to be this Ken’s Barbie.”
And America Ferrera, who played Gloria alongside Gosling in Greta Gerwig‘s Barbie, couldn’t agree with Mendes anymore.
“He is brilliant as Ken!” she added in the comments. “Pulled off a triple somersault performance! We’re so lucky it was him and I’m so grateful for the way he showed up with his super stardom, and continues to show up to support all the women in this process!! He is a class act and insanely deserving and talented.”
Mendes and Gosling first met when starring together in 2012’s The Place Beyond the Pines. They later got married and share two daughters.
Her comments come one day after Gosling learned he was nominated for the best supporting actor Oscar for his role as Ken. Ferrera also received a nod for best supporting actress for her performance in the record-breaking film.
But Gosling’s Academy Award nomination has also drawn some heat from Barbie fans after it was revealed that Margot Robbie was snubbed from a best leading actress nom, and Gerwig also did not get a best director nom.
The La La Land actor released a statement on Tuesday, saying that he was “honored” by his nomination but “disappointed” by Gerwig and Robbie’s snubs.
“I am extremely honored to be nominated by my colleagues alongside such remarkable artists in a year of so many great films,” Gosling said. “And I never thought I’d be saying this, but I’m also incredibly honored and proud that it’s for portraying a plastic doll named Ken.”
He continued, “But 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.
“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,” the actor concluded. “Their work should be recognized along with the other very deserving nominees.”