Ryan Gosling is calling out the Barbie fans who think he’s too old to play Ken in the upcoming film adaptation.
After the actor was casted in the role, some critics bashed the 42-year-old star, making ageist remarks across social media.
“I would say, you know, if people don’t want to play with my Ken, there are many other Kens to play with,” Gosling told GQ in a new interview.
Aside from Gosling’s Ken, actors John Cena, Simu Liu, Scott Evans, Ncuti Gatwa and Kingsley Ben-Adir also appear in the film as different versions of the eponymous doll.
He went on to take a dig at fans who he says “never cared” about Ken until he signed on to portray the iconic character.
“It is funny,” he added, “this kind of clutching-your-pearls idea of, like, #notmyken. Like you ever thought about Ken before this?”
Elsewhere in the interview, Gosling noted that in the past, Ken’s character has been confined to chilling on the beach and simply being Barbie’s guy without anyone ever being concerned about his own story.
“And everyone was fine with that, for him to have a job that is nothing,” the star said. “But suddenly, it’s like, ‘No, we’ve cared about Ken this whole time.’ No, you didn’t. You never did. You never cared. Barbie never fucked with Ken. That’s the point. If you ever really cared about Ken, you would know that nobody cared about Ken. So your hypocrisy is exposed. This is why his story must be told.”
Gosling added, “I care about this dude now. I’m like his representative. ‘Ken couldn’t show up to receive this award, so I’m here to accept it for him.’”
Despite Gosling’s naysayers, there are plenty of folks on Twitter who poured out support for the actor, calling him the “perfect Ken.”
Back in April, the “La La Land” star opened up about how he feared not having the right “Ken-ergy” for the “Barbie” movie during an appearance at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.
“I only knew Ken from afar. I didn’t know Ken from within, and if I’m being really honest, I doubted my Ken-ergy,” Gosling told the audience at a Warner Bros. Pictures presentation.
He then credited the film’s director Greta Gerwig and his co-star Margot Robbie for helping him morph into the confident, six-pack sporting character.
“I didn’t see it, but Margot and Greta, they conjured this out of me somehow,” Gosling said. “It was like I was living my life and then one day I was bleaching my hair, shaving my legs and wearing bespoke neon outfits and rollerblading down Venice Beach.”
“Barbie” is slated to hit theaters July 21, and also stars Will Ferrell, Michael Cera, America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Ariana Greenblatt, Emma Mackey, Alexandra Shipp, Issa Rae, Hari Nef, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Rhea Perlman, Emerald Fennell, Sharon Rooney, Scott Evans, Ana Cruz Kayne, Connor Swindells, Ritu Arya, Jamie Demetriou and Marisa Abela.
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