Despite their significant contributions to the 2023 box office hit "Barbie," both director Greta Gerwig and actor Margot Robbie were notably absent from the list of Oscar nominations for directing and lead actress announced on Tuesday.
Their omissions sparked a sharp reaction from "Barbie" actor Ryan Gosling, who earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination and lauded Gerwig and Robbie's "talent, grit and genius."
Gosling, who played Ken opposite Robbie's Barbie, said he was "extremely honored" by his nomination for the best-supporting actor, but added, "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," Gosling said in a statement.
"No recognition would be possible for anyone on the film without their talent, grit and genius," he added. "To say that I’m disappointed that they are not nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement."
Leonardo DiCaprio, the lead actor in director Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon," was also passed over by Hollywood's film academy in that category.
"Barbie" and "Killers of the Flower Moon" did snag two of the 10 best picture nominations, though they face formidable competition from the awards season frontrunner, "Oppenheimer," which led Tuesday's Academy Awards nominations with 13 nods.
Gerwig landed a nomination for best-adapted screenplay for "Barbie," along with her husband, Noah Baumbach. The movie, which earned over $1.4 billion at the worldwide box office in 2023, snagged eight nominations in total, and Robbie is credited as a producer for the Best Picture nod.
