Top-earning film snubbed by Oscars: Stars react

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The 2024 Academy Award nominations were revealed on Jan. 23, and while each year’s Oscar nods always include snubs, those snubs don’t always spark backlash.

This year, however, movie fans in Hollywood and beyond are outraged that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences failed to nominate “Barbie” director Greta Gerwig and star Margot Robbie in the best director and best lead actress categories, respectively.

The oddball feminist comedy was, by most accounts, a stunning success, winning over critics just as it won over fans and scored a record-setting $1.4 billion box office haul.

While “Barbie” did score eight nominations, including one for best picture, it didn’t help matters that Margot’s performance got no Academy recognition while her co-star, Ryan Gosling, was nominated for best supporting actor. Nor has it gone unnoticed that only eight women have been nominated for best director in Academy Awards’ history. Of those, only three have won.

Keep reading to see how Ryan, John Stamos and other stars are reacting to Greta’s and Margot’s shocking snubs…

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“I am extremely honored to be nominated by my colleagues alongside such remarkable artists in a year of so many great films. And I never thought I’d being saying this, but I’m also incredibly honored and proud that it’s for portraying a plastic doll named Ken,” Oscar-nominated “Barbie” star Ryan Gosling said in a statement about the snubs.

“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,” he continued. “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. Their work should be recognized along with the other very deserving nominees. Having said that, I am so happy for America Ferrera and the other incredible artists who contributed their talents to making this such a groundbreaking film,” he concluded.

MORE: Margot Robbie’s most inspired “Barbie” press tour looks

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“Greta [Gerwig] has done just about everything that a director could do to deserve [a nomination]. Creating this world, and taking something that didn’t have inherent value to most people and making it a global phenomenon. It feels disappointing to not see her on that list,” Oscar-nominated “Barbie” star America Ferrera told Variety on Jan. 23.

“What Margot [Robbie] achieved as an actress is truly unbelievable,” she added.

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“Barbie” star America Ferrera also spoke to Deadline about Greta Gerwig’s and Margot Robbie‘s directing and lead actress snubs.

“They’re my girls, and I want to see their incredible, amazing work celebrated. They made history, they set a new bar. They not only broke box office records, but made something that resonated around the globe, and the impact of what they made is, and will continue to be felt in our culture. I think I join a lot of people in wanting to see them acknowledged for that,” America said.

She went on to discuss how and why Margot, who also produced the film, asked Greta to co-write the script and direct the film.

“I think right from that moment, people got interested in what Greta’s mind as a filmmaker would do with ‘Barbie,’ and she just assembled incredible artist after incredible artist, in front of the camera and behind the camera, to bring her vision to life. The script was so funny and subversive and irreverent, but also dared to really have a heart and a message,” the actress explained.

“When I’ve watched a great movie, I feel more excited about not just what’s possible in storytelling, but also what’s possible in life, and I feel like that is what Greta accomplished with this movie,” she added.

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“Here’s the deal: Everybody doesn’t win,” said EGOT winner Whoopi Goldberg on “The View” on Jan. 24.

When her co-star, Sunny Hostin, brought up “the snubs,” Whoopi continued.

“Well, but they’re not snubs. And that’s what I want to sort of point out,” she said. “And it’s not the elites — it’s the entire family of the Academy who vote for Best Picture nominations. We all vote for Best Picture, everybody. So there are seven to 10 nominations that happen, and you don’t get everything that you want to get. There are no snubs, and that’s what you have to keep in mind: Not everybody gets a prize. The movies you love may not be loved by the people who are voting.”

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“The View” co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin also chimed in on the Jan. 24 episode.

After praising Ryan Gosling‘s Oscar nod for his turn as Ken in “Barbie,” Alyssa asked, “Did they miss the whole moral of the story of ‘Barbie’? Of course, we celebrate just Ken and not the woman who is the lead in it and the icon in it? But actually, I think this could give Greta [Gerwig] an idea for a sequel,” she continued. “Barbie goes to Hollywood and is snubbed by the elites who chose Ken over her. So just throwing that out there for an idea.”

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“Joy and disappointment, it seems to go hand-in-hand,” 2023 best actress Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh told Hoda Kotb on the “Today” show when asked about the snubs on Jan. 24.

“Thank god they got nominated for best picture, but you do think, ‘How do you get nominated for best picture and not best director and best actress?’ But it happens. And I’m sorry it happened to them because it’s obviously one of the most successful and beloved movies.”

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“Greta [Gerwig] and Margot [Robbie], 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. #HillaryBarbie.” –Hillary Clinton wrote on Instagram

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“Make it make sense,” George Takei captioned a repost on Threads.

The original post read, “Hypothetically, if I were going to nominate a film about a badger, starring a badger, called ‘Badger,’ for best picture … I would also nominate the badger, right?”

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“Anatomy of a Fall” filmmaker Justine Triet was the only woman nominated for best director this year, despite the success of Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Celine Song’s “Past Lives.”

The French director told The Hollywood Reporter she was “surprised” she was included “because there are no more women beside me” in the category.

Asked which films she’s “rooting for” come March 10, Justine included “Barbie” as one of her picks.

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The 96th Academy Awards air live on March 10, 2024. Since the Oscars’ inception nearly a century ago, only three women have been named best director.

The first was Kathryn Bigelow (pictured here), whose 2010 win for “The Hurt Locker” made history after more than 80 years of awards.

More than a decade later in 2021, Chloé Zhao won best director for “Nomadland,” followed by Jane Campion’s 2022 win for “The Power of the Dog.”