Patriarchy wins again as Oscars snub ‘Barbie’ star Margot Robbie but nominate ‘Ken’

Sorry, feminists, but you just can’t beat the patriarchy, even in Barbie Land.

The 96th Academy Awards nominations announced Tuesday overlooked Margot Robbie, star of the 2023 summer blockbuster “Barbie,” who was widely expected to receive an Actress in a Leading Role nomination for her performance as the iconic fashion doll.

Instead, it was Ryan Gosling as Ken who picked up an Actor in a Supporting Role nomination for his performance as Ken, Barbie’s beleaguered would-be boyfriend.

The irony was thick, given that the film about the bright-pink doll world did its level best to exalt feminism and smash the patriarchy by mocking Ken and his Ken buddies as dumb, weak and generally inferior to their Barbie counterparts.

That strategy may have backfired. Audiences sided with the underdog Ken, winningly played by Mr. Gosling, who wound up becoming the movie’s breakout character, overshadowing Barbie and her preachy cohorts.

America Ferrera, who plays a mother and Mattel employee, picked up a nomination for Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance, which culminates in a two-minute-plus speech decrying societal double standards.

In another surprise, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences failed to nominate Greta Gerwig as best director for “Barbie,” although she did receive nominations for Best Picture (as one of the film’s producers) and Best Adapted Screenplay with Noah Baumbach.

The decision to honor Ken while snubbing Barbie did not go unnoticed Tuesday on social media. Those taking exception to the selections included gun-control activist Shannon Watts.

“Greta Gerwig: Made a critically acclaimed, culturally profound, feminist movie about Barbie and the patriarchy that made a billion dollars at the box office,” said Ms. Watts on X. “Oscar nomination goes to … Ken.”

Ryan Gosling getting ready to perform I’m just Ken at the Oscars …pic.twitter.com/ynYv7hkKAy

— ☆La☆ (@Ayah2156) January 23, 2024

Leading the Oscar pack was “Oppenheimer,” the Christopher Nolan-directed film about the making of the atomic bomb, which picked up 13 nominations, followed by “Poor Things,” a Frankenstein-inspired take about a young woman brought back to life by a scientist, with 11 nods.

“Barbie” was nominated in eight categories, including nods for costume design, production design, and music.

The Academy Awards honoring films released in 2023 are scheduled for March 11 at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles.

“Barbie” won two awards at the Golden Globes earlier this month for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement and Best Original Song. Ms. Gerwig, Ms. Robbie and Mr. Gosling were all nominated for individual awards, although none of them won.

Correction: A previous version of this article mischaracterized Shannon Watts’ social activism.