Ryan Gosling has responded to the #NotMyKen backlash and it's going viral

The world is waiting in anticipation for the release of Barbie, a live-action movie about the iconic Mattel doll, directed and co-written by Oscar nominated Greta Gerwig. 

With the official trailer dropping last week, Barbie is set to be the most talked-about film of the summer - with hype already surrounding its star-studded cast. We're talking Margot Robbie, Will Ferrell, Emma Mackey, Ncuti Gatwa, America Ferrera and Dua Lipa to name a few. 

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This week it was Ryan Gosling, Barbie's Ken, that made headlines after the 42-year-old actor responded to the #NotMyKen backlash that he was too old to play the male doll.

“It is funny, this kind of clutching-your-pearls idea of, like, #notmyken. Like you ever thought about Ken before this?” Ryan Gosling told GQ, explaining how Ken has often been overlooked. “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 fucked with Ken. That’s the point.”

He continued: "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.

“I would say, you know, if people don’t want to play with my Ken, there are many other Kens to play with.”

"Nobody plays with Ken, man," Gosling later told Jimmy Fallon. "They never played with Ken. He’s an accessory and not even one of the cool ones.”

This Gosling explained even includes his daughters, with the father of two recalling that their disrespect for their Ken doll prompted him to make the final decision to play the role.

“I walk out in the backyard and, do you know where I found Ken, Jimmy?" Gosling recalled to Jimmy Fallon of the moment after Gerwig had offered him the role. "He was face down in the mud next to a squished lemon,” Gosling recalled.

He went on to explain that he took a photograph of the scene and sent it to Gerwig as his acceptance, with the message: "I shall be your Ken, for this story must be told."

Barbie is set for release on 21 July 2023.