On today’s Morning Jolt, Jim details the latest Hollywood controversy concerning Barbie at the Oscars. Neither the female lead, Margot Robbie, nor the female director, Greta Gerwig were nominated for awards in their respective categories.

Never mind that Barbie has been nominated for eight other awards, including: Best Picture, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress (America Ferrera), and Best Supporting Actor (Ryan Gosling).

Gosling released a statement, saying:

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. No recognition would be possible for anyone on the film without their talent, grit and genius. To say that I’m disappointed that they are not nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement.

First, Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig are both highly successful, celebrated women who will be just fine without an Oscar nomination. Barbie was the greatest box-office success in 2023, grossing $1.4 billion, narrowly beating the Super Mario Bros Movie. To say Gerwig and Robbie are wealthy because of Barbie is putting it mildly.

Second, let’s look at the competition, shall we? In Gerwig’s category, Best Director, the nominees are Jonathan Glazer for The Zone of Interest, Yórgos Lánthimos for Poor Things, Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer, Martin Scorsese for Killers of the Flower Moon, and Justine Triet — a woman — for Anatomy of a Fall.

I happen to have seen all of the above, as well as Barbie, and agree wholeheartedly that those nominated were far more deserving. As for the Best Actress nominations, there are a couple of performances on the list I haven’t seen, but Robbie’s exclusion can hardly be viewed as sexist given that all the nominees in that category are women.

The truth is that had this been a weaker movie year, then Barbie probably would have earned those extra nominations. As it is, it was beaten by the competition. To pretend otherwise is to be a sore loser.