Jimmy Kimmel kicked off the 2024 Academy Awards by addressing this awards season’s hottest topic: Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie’s Oscar snubs.
“Barbie’s a feminist icon thanks to Greta Gerwig, who many believe deserved to be nominated for Best Director,” Kimmel, 56, said during his opening monologue at the Sunday, March 10, awards show. He proceeded to call out attendees who applauded at his remark, quipping, “I know you’re clapping, but you’re the ones who didn’t vote for her, by the way. Don’t act like you had nothing to do with this.”
Kimmel went on to praise the film’s star and producer, Robbie, 33, who for being able to “put this giant hit together.” Pointing out her seating placement behind costar Ryan Gosling, Kimmel joked: “Ryan and Margot, I want you to know that even if neither one of you wins an Oscar tonight, you both already won something much more important: the genetic lottery.”
The late night host ended his Barbie discussion by calling Gosling, 43, “so hot,” adding, “Let’s go camping and not tell our wives.”
Earlier in his monologue, Kimmel addressed Barbie’s box office success, noting that the film was able to “take a plastic doll nobody even liked anymore” and turn it into a pop culture moment. “I mean, my wife [Molly McNearney] before this movie, you would have had a better chance of getting my wife to buy our daughter a pack of Marlboro Reds than a Barbie doll,” he quipped. (Kimmel and McNearney, 46, share daughter Jane, 9, and son Billy, 6.)
In January, the internet went ablaze after Robbie and Gerwig, 40, were not acknowledged in the Best Actress in a Leading Role and Best Director nomination categories, respectively, especially since both have been recognized throughout the 2023/2024 awards season. However, Barbie did walk away with eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Original Song, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Production Design and Best Costume Design.
Gosling, 43, and America Ferrera are the film’s only two acting nominees, earning nods for their supporting roles as Ken and Gloria, respectively.
“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 January 23 statement. “To say I’m disappointed that they are not nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement.”
Ferrera, for her part, told Entertainment Weekly that she was “sad and disappointed” by Robbie and Gerwig’s exclusion, adding, “Their work in both of those categories was phenomenal, and in my book, [they] deserve to be acknowledged for the history they made, for the ground they broke, for the beautiful artistry.”
Robbie, who also served as a producer on Barbie, broke her silence at a SAG-AFTRA screening of the film on Tuesday, January 30. “There’s no way to feel sad when you know you’re this blessed,” she stated. “Obviously, I think Greta should be nominated as a director because what she did is a once-in-a-career, once-in-a-lifetime thing, what she pulled off, it really is. But it’s been an incredible year for all the films.”
