Greta Gerwig has responded quite gracefully to the controversial joke Jo Koy made about Barbie at the Golden Globes. Do we expect anything less from our thoughtful queen?
Gerwig directed the film (which was totally robbed at the awards, by the way), that Koy said was “based on a plastic doll with big boobies” in a joke called out as demeaning and dismissive of the film’s feminist messages.
However, when Gerwig was asked about his comments, she noted that “Well, he’s not wrong.”
“She’s the first doll that was mass-produced with breasts, so he was right on,” she told BBC Radio’s Today.
“And you know, I think that so much of the project, of the movie was unlikely because it is about a plastic doll.”
Gerwig then reflected on what Barbie’s plastic nature actually says about her and the way consumers perceive her.
“Barbie, by her very construction, has no character, no story,” she said.
“She’s there to be projected upon.”
“Barbie’s been around since 1959,” she continued.
“She’s been a villain, and she’s been a hero, but it felt like, in a way, even though it’s so seemingly superficial, that it was such a rich place to start.”
Gerwig said she isn’t surprised, nor bothered, by the seemingly reductive way Koy spoke about Barbie.
“What’s sort of amazing about it is it has inspired such a wide range of reactions,” she explained.
“And in some ways, it’s not surprising. Barbie has always been sometimes ahead of culture, sometimes behind culture and she’s always been a flashpoint for arguments.”
Trust Greta Gerwig to take a cheap quip about a tired topic and turn it into an insightful discussion about culture, women and public discourse.
She slays yet again, folks.
Image: Amy Sussman/Getty Images, Sonja Flemming/CBS via Getty Images
