Warner Bros has issued an apology after the official Barbie movie account responded to Barbenheimer memes containing images of atom bombs. Some of these images featured Margot Robbie with a mushroom cloud hairstyle, and the account’s reply read, “This Ken is a stylist”. The incident has caused significant outrage among Japanese film buffs, especially given that the Margot Robbie movie is set to be released in the country on August 11, just five days after the 78th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bomb attack. The hashtag #NoBarbenheimer has been trending. If you don’t already know, Barbenheimer is a portmanteau of two major studio films — ‘Barbie’ and Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ — that were vastly different in terms of their character, both of which released on July 21. ‘Barbenheimer’ was promoted as a sort of strange double feature. And it worked in the favour of both movies.
Among the memes that angered Japanese social media users was one depicting Cillian Murphy, who portrayed Robert Oppenheimer, also known as the “father of the atomic bomb,” carrying Robbie on his shoulder through a burning city. The official Barbie movie account’s response to this image was, “It’s going to be a summer to be remembered.”
In response to the controversy, Warner Bros Japan, through its own Barbie account, had expressed deep regret for the American headquarters’ official ‘Barbie’ account’s reaction to the “Barbenheimer” fan posts on social media.
Now to the BBC, the Warner Bros headquarters in the US said, “Warner Bros regrets its recent insensitive social media engagement. The studio offers a sincere apology.” (Agencies)
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