Margot Robbie Suffers Surprising Oscar Nomination Snub

Robbie was not nominated for best lead actress, and fans are shocked.

By Michael Hein

While the Barbie movie racked up eight Oscar nominations in total, star Margot Robbie was not nominated for best lead actress, and many fans were shocked. The movie became a viral sensation multiple times over in 2023 and Robbie's performance was particularly lauded. Many fans, critics and even film scholars feel that this was a serious snub – even by the standards of the Oscars.

Barbie was nominated for eight Academy Awards: best picture, best supporting actor, best supporting actress, best costume design, best production design, best adapted screenplay and two nominations for best original song. However, when the nominees were announced, fans were quick to notice that Robbie was not nominated for best lead actress and Greta Gerwig was not nominated for best director. Considering the many unconventional risks this movie took and its overall success, fans thought that these two would get recognition. When they didn't, the reactions on social media included shock, anger and disappointment.

For many fans, it was a simple matter of optics. For example, one viral post read: "So Ryan Gosling's nominated for playing Ken but Margot Robbie isn't nominated for playing Barbie... in Barbie?" Another person wrote: "Ryan Gosling getting a nomination and Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig NOT getting nominations feels like something happening in the Barbie movie to further illustrate the point of the Barbie movie." The matter even prompted a response from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who wrote: "While it can sting to win the box office but not take home the gold, your millions of fans love you. You're both so much more than Kenough."

The reactions may go further than one award season, too, according to author and Turner Classic Movies host Dave Karger. He told PEOPLE: "It's definitely not a good look that the Academy members left out Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie for directing and starring in a movie that's largely about how impressive women are often marginalized. Even though they both received nominations for their work on Barbie in other categories, these two high-profile omissions will be remembered – and they will sting – for a long time."

Still, after the initial shock passed on social media there were plenty of commenters saying that it was blown out of proportion – especially because Robbie and Gerwig are both included in the nominations for their work on the movie as producers. On The View, Whoopi Goldberg said that she wouldn't consider these two omissions "snubs," sparking a conversation about the true point of award shows in the first place.

Meanwhile, on social media, some commenters pointed out other "snubs" that were more disappointing to them – especially for women. Many said they were more disappointed that Greta Lee was not nominated for her performances in Past Lives, and that writer Celine Song wasn't nominated either. Others said that they were more focused on celebrating a nomination for America Ferrera and questioning why she was nominated as a supporting actress, not a lead. Some also celebrated the nomination for Lily Gladstone in Killers of the Flower Moon.

So far, Robbie and Gerwig have not commented publicly on these "snubs" or the discourse around them. The Oscars will be broadcast live on Sunday, March 10 starting at 7 p.m. ET on ABC. 

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