Margot Robbie Says She Doesn’t Feel ‘Sad’ Over ‘Barbie’ Oscars Snub: ‘We Set Out to Shift Culture’

“There’s no way to feel sad when you know you’re this blessed,” Robbie, 33, said during a SAG-AFTRA screening of Barbie on Tuesday, January 30, according to Deadline. “Obviously, I think Greta [Gerwig] 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.”

Gerwig, 30, directed Barbie, which came out in July 2023, based on the Mattel doll of the same name. Gerwig wrote the script with her husband, Noah Baumbach, and they jointly earned an Oscar nomination for Best Adaptation Screenplay. Gerwig, however, was not recognized for Best Director, nor was Robbie — who played the titular character — in the Best Leading Actress category.

“[I’m] beyond ecstatic that we’ve got eight Academy Award nominations, it’s so wild,” Robbie gushed on Tuesday, honors which include Best Picture and respective Supporting Actor and Actress nods for Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera.

Oscar recognition aside, Robbie, who produced Barbie alongside husband Tom Ackerley, is even prouder of what the film has achieved to viewers.

“I just suspect it’s bigger than us. It’s bigger than this movie, it’s bigger than our industry,” she gushed. “We set out to do something that would shift culture, affect culture, just make some sort of impact 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.”

Robbie further added that fan reactions have been “the biggest reward” of making the film. (Barbie also earned the award for Box Office and Cinematic Achievement at the Golden Globes earlier this month.)

“I’ve never been a part of something like this. … I’ve done comic book stuff and that gets a big reaction, but this felt very different,” Robbie added. “It still feels very different. And I can’t think of a time when a movie’s had this effect on culture. And it’s amazing to be in the eye of the storm.”

Ferrera, 39, was also proud of Barbie but did feel disappointed that Robbie and Gerwig weren’t recognized at the Oscars as an actress and a director, respectively.

“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,” Ferrera told Entertainment Weekly after nominations were announced. “They’re my girls, and I want to see them celebrated for their amazingness, so that part of [my nomination] is definitely bittersweet.”

Gosling, 43, was also saddened to see Robbie and Gerwig snubbed. “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,” he said in a statement. “To say that I’m disappointed that they are not nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement.”