Academy Member Blasts Barbie Oscar Snubs: 'The Ultimate in Patriarchy'

As the debate rages on over whether Barbie‘s Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig got a raw deal from the Oscars, one Academy member believes their respective exclusions for Best Actress and Best Director prove “the ultimate in patriarchy.”

Speaking with People Magazine, the anonymous member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences spoke out about the snubs for Robbie and Gerwig, believing they represent a bigger perception problem in Hollywood. The member called the snubs “a terrible miss,” adding, “I feel sad that that recognition, which is so deserving, was snubbed because it’s wrong on every level.” While the member admitted comedy films don’t tend to perform well at the Oscars, Gerwig’s absence from Best Director consideration was a major surprise. “Comedies traditionally don’t do well at the Academy,” the source said. “And this is a film that, yes, was a comedy, and it grossed over $1 billion. How do you not give credit to the director?”

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Academy members typically use preferential ballots when voting on awards, which are weighted towards the top two favorites, with different branches casting votes in the respective categories, except for the universally-voted Best Picture. Despite the movie doing well on the ballot, the Academy member wondered aloud “how the algorithm worked that she [Gerwig] didn’t get enough votes for a directing nod.” The source added, “How many female directors had films that gross that?” This was a phenomenon.” Meanwhile, the member also posited Barbie‘s popularity working against it as a potential reason why Robbie and Gerwig were snubbed. “When you’ve got a film that’s such a populist film, I think the popularity of it just made people think, ‘Oh well, people went to see it. Let’s show some love to other films, such as Poor Things. Let’s show some love to Anatomy of a Fall,’” the source said.

Barbie’s Snubs Have Drawn a Lot of Attention

Everyone from Barbie stars to popular cultural commentators has weighed in on the Robbie/Gerwig Oscar omission debate since the Academy Award nominations were announced on Jan. 23. Several Barbie actors, including Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera, who were respectively nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress Oscars, expressed their disappointment with the snubs, while Simu Liu also offered his support to Robbie and Gerwig. Meanwhile, legendary author Stephen King also weighed in on the exclusions, questioning the Academy’s selection process.

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Despite garnering no Best Actress or Best Director nods, Barbie still walked away with eight nominations at the 96th Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. Considering the nominations it received and its billion-dollar success, some have been less sympathetic to Robbie and Gerwig’s plight. Oscar-winning actor and The View co-host, Whoopi Goldberg, is one such person as she expressed her thoughts on the controversy.

Barbie was executive produced by Robbie and is the third film helmed by Gerwig to get an Oscar nod alongside Lady Bird and Little Women. The highest-grossing movie ever for Warner Bros. recently won two Golden Globes and received 12 Grammy nominations for its celebrated musical performances and soundtrack.

Barbie is now available for streaming via Max and can be bought on home video.

Source: People