Barbies may stick together in Barbie Land, but in the real world, Margot Robbie is getting a rude awakening.
Days after the Barbie star and director Greta Gerwig were both overlooked in the Oscars nominations department, the pair are said to be reeling from the controversial snubs. With all its success, you would’ve thought they’d be slam dunk choices for noms. It’s not just the box office — no one expects Super Mario Bros to get Oscar gold. What we mean is, the movie could’ve easily been a cheesy by-the-numbers story to sell dolls, but these two ladies managed to turn it into a nuanced, emotional, feel-good masterpiece about the human experience — specifically, the female experience. Not only did it gross over a BILLION dollars, it was one of the most critically acclaimed movies of the year! But while girl power may have been the go-to in the flick, it sounds like the camaraderie ended the second screens went dark.
Related: Eva Mendes Defends Husband Ryan Gosling’s Barbie Oscars Nom!
On Thursday, an insider suggested that one of the major reasons the two creatives were snubbed was the green-eyed monster itself: jealousy! They told The US Sun:
“You have to deal with the simple fact that when a movie makes a billion-plus dollars, people get jealous, even if those people themselves are rich, famous and good-looking movie stars. Margot and Greta had a good number of high-profile supporters, including Gal Gadot and Anne Hathaway, but the absentees are glaring especially when you think about the sheer number of big names they’ve both worked with over the years.”
We’re not liking the sound of this…
The source continued:
“There wasn’t as deep a bench in support as there may have seemed when the movie was selling so many tickets over the summer. I think what you saw this year were a lot of past Oscar-winning actresses just ignore Barbie completely. Margot and Greta are paying a price here with their suddenly dominant status in the industry. That can put a target on the back of your head, especially if important people feel left out.”
So, pretty much, it’s a case of new sheriffs in town — and established industry members don’t like it?! Whoa…
It’s certainly not unheard of for big names to rally behind actors in Oscars campaigns… Remember, actors nominate actors. And stars can really influence those in their field. According to the outlet, Jennifer Aniston was one of the stars who played a big role in that controversial *ahem*grass roots*ahem* campaign to get Andrea Riseborough a nom for To Leslie last year. But when it came to Barbie, the insider claimed the Friends star was just wasn’t “impressed.” They explained:
“I think Jen is simply a lot more impressed with movies like Oppenheimer and Asteroid City than she was with Barbie this year.”
Just last week at the Critics Choice Awards, Jen was asked as “a powerful woman” on the red carpet to read a snippet from America Ferrera’s empowering monologue in the film — which she almost seemed annoyed by! She said, “don’t do this to me,” before grabbing a cue card and reluctantly reading a snippet. After she was done, she dealt the card back with an annoyed expression, grumbling, “Gosh darn it.”
Some could interpret the moment as humorous and self-effacing… but there could be some annoyance read there. You can decide for yourself (below):
The US Sun insider definitely didn’t seem to give her the benefit of the doubt. Their take was severe:
“When prompted to read from the movie’s famous monologue, it was plain to see how unimpressed she was with the material and how overhyped she thinks it is. She’ll play along to a point, but isn’t about to sacrifice her hard-won artistic integrity so that Greta or Margot can get Oscar nominations. To Jen, the most impressive thing about Barbie is probably the money it made.”
We get that take, but Jen also doesn’t HAVE to like the movie… Films are subjective! We mean, we don’t see how someone would dislike Barbie so much — someone who isn’t a whiny man-baby we mean. But there’s someone for every take out there! And she wasn’t the only actress the insider claims had ill feelings towards the flick…
Jen’s The Morning Show co-star Reese Witherspoon is also said to have refused to rally behind Barbie — possibly because at one point she was tapped to star in her own version of a Barbie movie, about inventor Ruth Handler — but ultimately passed:
“It was certainly something Reese looked at back in 2015 before deciding not to get involved. It must have been a hard pill for her to swallow watching Margot make one of the biggest blockbusters of all time from something similar to a project Reese couldn’t find the time to get around to. Reese is supposed to be a much better strategist than this, but Barbie has turned out to be a blind spot that cost her a fortune.”
Oof…
Without the support of Jen and Reese, who’ve been Hollywood mainstays since the ’90s, the source argues it became much more of an uphill battle for Margot and Greta to land coveted awards spots:
“Jen and Reese are much more plugged into the business and have deeper friend networks that, when activated, can turn the tide and create a groundswell. But it has to be around a project they genuinely believe in and unfortunately, Barbie wasn’t it.”
Well, good thing they have Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera on their side.
The insider also named Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Martin Scorsese as stars who turned their noses up at the film. Whoa!
What are YOUR thoughts here, Perezcious readers? Do you buy into the jealous conspiracy against the biggest movie of 2023? Or is the answer the simpler, more conventional wisdom… that the Oscars just don’t respect comedy as much as straight drama??
Let us know in the comments down below!
[Image via MEGA/WENN/Warner Bros/YouTube.]
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