Oliver Stone Apologizes For 'Speaking Ignorantly' About Ryan Gosling's Barbie Role

Oliver Stone is apologizing for derogatory comments he made about Greta Gerwig's film "Barbie." Sort of. He did so in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) featuring a screenshot of a Notes app where he derided Deadline — which he calls a publication he respects — for printing a "sensationalistic, out-of-context statement" about Gerwig's movie while he was in Europe promoting a documentary. 

"I was able to see 'Barbie' in a theater back in July and appreciated the film for its originality and its themes," Stone continued, giving it the faintest possible amount of praise. "I found the filmmakers' approach certainly different than what I expected. I apologize for speaking ignorantly."

Stone added that he's appreciated at least one of Gerwig's previous movies and that he's glad that "Barbie" made a lot of money. "Greta Gerwig's 2017 film 'Lady Bird' was one of my favorites of that year," the director wrote.'"Barbie's' box office greatly boosted the morale of our business, which was welcome. I wish Greta and the entire 'Barbie' team good fortune at the Oscars." 

While Stone certainly apologized — in that he technically used the word "apologize" to describe what he was doing — it's definitely a measured response to comments that do seem to have some context.

In an interview with Steve Dinneen of City A.M., Oliver Stone certainly went after "Barbie" in a big way. As noted, the director initially seemed to forget about his documentary "Nuclear Now," particularly when Dinneen brought up "Barbie" and jokingly wondered if Stone would be interested in helming a potential sequel.

"Ridiculous," Stone told Dinneen. "Ryan Gosling is wasting his time if he's doing that s*** for money. He should be doing more serious films. He shouldn't be a part of this infantilization of Hollywood. Now it's all fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, including all the war pictures: fantasy, fantasy. Even the 'Fast and Furious' movies, which I used to enjoy, have become like Marvel movies. I mean, how many crashes can you see?"

Though City A.M. ran the interview, Deadline reported it as well, which is why Stone went after that particular trade publication. In any case, apology aside, Stone's comments seem pretty unequivocal about "Barbie" helping to "infantilize" Hollywood and how Gosling, who plays Ken in the movie, should appear in more "serious" — by which he likely means "legitimate" — projects. Sadly, even though Stone wished the film well during Oscar season, it seems as if Academy voters share Stone's divisive view.

Oliver Stone's comments about "Barbie" and Ryan Gosling's role as Ken are — to be clear — rude and dismissive. It's unfortunate that Academy voters appear to be on the same page. The film was nominated for best picture alongside nine other candidates, but it missed out on two of the biggest categories of the ceremony — best director and best actress. Both Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie were snubbed from their respective categories, which is pretty egregious considering that Gerwig's sharp direction and Robbie's emotional performance both elevated the project to the point where it was considered one of the year's best movies. So why did this happen?

Stone using the word "serious" in opposition to a movie like "Barbie" is no accident. "Barbie" is many things: a portrait of womanhood, a touching character study, and a sharp feminist take on one of the most iconic dolls in history. A bad faith argument would be that it's a giant Mattel commercial with no deeper meaning that made over a billion dollars, and that argument is what boosts complaints like Stone's and encourages Academy voters to ignore the film in some of these extremely crucial categories.

At least Stone apologized (in a fashion), but the damage was done. If you haven't seen "Barbie" yet, experience it for yourself — and form your own opinion — on Max, where it's currently streaming.