Margot Robbie finally breaks silence on Oscars snub after widespread backlash

The box office hit secured eight Academy Award nominations but was shut out of two major categories

Margot Robbie has finally responded to Barbie’s recent Oscar snubs, which prompted a widespread backlash among co-stars, fans and other high-profile figures.

The summer box office smash was nominated for a total of eight Academy Awards but failed to secure a Best Director nod for Greta Gerwig and a Best Leading Actress nod for Robbie.

This led to an outcry in the industry and beyond, with Barbie stars Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera – both of whom respectively secured Best Leading Actor and Best Supporting Actress nominations – expressing their disappointment.

Former US First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton waded in, as did a local Australian police force who said they were “investigating” the “robbery”.

Now that the dust has settled, Robbie is breaking her silence on Barbie being shut out of two major Oscar categories.

“There’s no way to feel sad when you know you’re this blessed,” she told Deadline, adding that she is “beyond ecstatic that we’ve got eight Academy Award nominations – it’s so wild”.

“Everyone getting the nods that they’ve had is just incredible, and the Best Picture nod,” Robbie continued.

Greta Gerwig (left) and Margot Robbie (AP)

“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.

“We set out to do something that would shift culture, affect culture, just make some sort of impact,” she said. “And it’s already done that, and some, way more than we ever dreamed it would. And that is truly the biggest reward that could come out of all of this.”

In addition to the acting nods, Barbie will compete for Best Picture, Costume Design, Production Design, Adapted Screenplay and Original Song at the 2024 Oscars. It landed two nominations in the latter category for its two songs, “I’m Just Ken” and “What Was I Made For?”.

Robbie has been nominated at the Oscars twice previously: first for her lead role in the 2017 sports biopic I, Tonya and again for her supporting role in the 2019 comedy thriller, Bombshell.