Ken is not having a good day.

Ryan Gosling is clearly pleased to have been nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 2024 Academy Awards, but his achievement would have been even sweeter if both director Greta Gerwig and star/producer Margot Robbie had not lost their Oscar would have been. Basically, he agrees with all who point out the unfairness of these choices.

"In a year of so much great work, I am very honored to be nominated by my colleagues along with these amazing artists," Gosling told E! News in a statement.5]

"And I never thought I'd say this. But I am incredibly honored and proud to have played a plastic doll named Ken."

"But," the actor continued, "without Barbie, there would be no Ken, and without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the people most responsible for the movie that made this history and made it world famous, there would be no Barbie movie.

"Without their talent, grit, and genius, there would be no recognition for anyone in this film. To say I am disappointed that they were not nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement. Against all odds, with only a couple of soulless, skeletal, and thankfully crotchety dolls, they made us laugh, broke our hearts, pushed culture, and made history."

He concluded, "Their work should be recognized along with the other very deserving candidates."

The Academy nominated "Barbie" for Best Picture (which means both Gerwig and Robbie will be nominated), America Ferrera for Best Supporting Actress, and the film won Best Adapted Screenplay (for Gerwig and her husband and co-creator honoring Noah Baumbach), somewhat redeemed itself with a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Still, the irony of Ken being nominated and Barbie not being nominated for a film that criticizes patriarchy, and the film itself being nominated and not the director, has people on social media outraged.