Ryan Gosling slams critics who said he is too old to play Ken in Barbie: ‘Your hypocrisy is exposed’

Ryan Gosling is opening up about the initial criticism he faced about being casted as Ken for the movie Barbie. Many fans had expressed their disappointment that Ryan Gosling, 42, is too old to play Ken. Now in a new interview, Ryan has said the reaction has been nothing less than hypocritical as no one seemed to care for Ken all this while. (Also read: Barbie trailer out: Here are some of the best Twitter reactions to Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling’s upcoming film)

In an interview last week, star Margot Robbie, who plays Barbie in the film directed by Greta Gerwig, had said that Ken is “the greatest version of Ryan Gosling ever put on screen.” In the trailer of the film that was released earlier this month, audiences got a glimpse of how Ryan Gosling’s Ken follows Barbie on Earth where he also gets arrested with her.

Ryan Gosling’s reaction

Now in a new interview with GQ Magazine, when Ryan was asked about the reaction to him being too old to play Ken, he replied, “I would say, you know, if people don’t want to play with my Ken, there are many other Kens to play with… It is funny, this kind of clutching-your-pearls idea of, like, #notmyken. Like you ever thought about Ken before this? And everyone was fine with that, for him to have a job that is nothing. 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 f–ked 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.”

Ken’s story needs to be told

Further saying that he now feels kinship with the character of Ken, Ryan quipped, “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.’ ”

Barbie stars an ensemble cast that includes Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Nicola Coughlan, Hari Nef as the other Barbies, while Simu Liu and Kingsley Ben-Adir play the other Kens. America Ferrera and Will Ferrell play the human characters. Barbie will open in theatres on July 21st, 2023.