Warner Bros Forced to Apologise to Save Margot Robbie’s ‘Barbie’ From Bad Reputation Over Offensive ‘Barbenheimer’ Post
Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer were the summer’s most anticipated films, and both got positive reviews from both audiences and critics for being notably different and unique in their ways. The actors received a lot of praise for their work.
After much anticipation, the clash of two of the biggest movies, dubbed Barbenheimer, took over the world, and audiences did not hold back in sharing every detail online about how the two movies differed from each other, with thousands of memes being shared around the world to keep the hype going until the release. But perhaps Barbie‘s creators went a little too far and are now retracting their acts.
Margot Robbie starrer Barbie’s media engagement did not sit well in Japan
There is no doubt that Greta Gerwig’s Barbie starring actress Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling went in with everything they had with the marketing to promote the movie, but sometimes people forget when to stop.
A meme referencing, Barbenheimer showcases the actress on the shoulders of Cillian Murphy, who stars in Oppenheimer as Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer with an atomic bomb explosion behind them. The U.S. Barbie’s Twitter (now X) responded to it with a caption stating, “It’s going to be a summer to remember.”
The viral tweet received backlash from the community in Japan due to its historical context of the mushroom cloud, which is represented as the bombs that were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki back in 1945. This post and the caption coming from the official U.S. page of Barbie did not sit right with the people in Japan and ignited an online petition against Warner Bros. U.S.
Along with the online petition, #NoBarbenheimer started to trend in Japan in recent days as the people of Japan consider this a very sensitive and disturbing incident, especially with images and memes that have been shared online. Many users have claimed that the imagery trivializes nuclear weapons and the devastating fallout of the bomb on the country and citizens of Japan.
Read this: Margot Robbie Celebrates ‘Barbie’ Success By Spending Over $55,000 on Special Trip
Warner Bros. Film Group issues an apology for ‘insensitive social media engagement’
Warner Bros. Japan stated in its official Japanese language as they criticized the actions of the studio’s U.S. branch and called them out for feeding into the hype of Barbenheimer on social media without thinking that the issue could turn out to be a sensitive one.
“We consider it extremely regrettable that the official account of the American headquarters for the movie ‘Barbie’ reacted to the social media postings of ‘Barbenheimer’ fans. … We take this situation very seriously. We are asking the U.S. headquarters to take appropriate action. We apologize to those who were offended by this series of inconsiderate reactions. Warner Bros Japan.”
— 映画『バービー』公式 (@BarbieMovie_jp) July 31, 2023
The tweet continued, “At 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945 (Showa 20), an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima for the first time in human history. The particular nature of the damage caused by the atomic bombs is that mass destruction and mass murder occurred instantaneously and indiscriminately.”
After the backlash, Warner Bros. Film Group decided to act immediately and, as a part of damage control, issued an apology that read, “Warner Brothers regrets its recent insensitive social media engagement. The studio offers a sincere apology.”
No release date for Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer in Japan
It should be noted that Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, starring Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, and many more, did not release in Japan. The movie does not have a planned release in the country either.
The appreciated movie that navigates the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, who is also known as the Father of the Atomic Bomb, did not showcase the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki visually but only in terms of hearing the news on a radio. Nolan, in an interview, explained why the bombings were not shown, “We know so much more than he did at the time. He learned about the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the radio, the same as the rest of the world…It’s meant to feel like it’s far away enough that it’s not going to affect you.”
According to sources, as many as 250,000 people were killed in Japan as a result of two atomic bombs that were dropped by the United States on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros’s president of domestic distribution, however, said after the release of the movies that the Barbenheimer thing was a real boost for both movies and it’s a crowning achievement for everyone. He added that this marketing campaign is something that people are going to talk about for years to come.
Barbie is scheduled for an August 11 release in Japan.
Source: Variety
