BarbieGreta Gerwig says Jo Koy's
Published on January 15, 2026 EDT The director also says that she feels "intimidated" by her upcoming Netflix adaptation of 'The Chronicles of Narnia.'

The star-studded Golden Globes audience may not have been laughing at host Jo Koy's attempted zingers on Sunday, but Greta Gerwig isn't too outraged.

In a new interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today program, the Barbie director was asked what she thought of Koy saying that Oppenheimer “is based on a 721-page Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Manhattan Project, and Barbie is on a plastic doll with big boobies.” Gerwig is taking it in stride.

“Well, he’s not wrong," Gerwig said. "She’s the first doll that was mass produced with breasts, so he was right on. And you know, I think that so much of the project of the movie was unlikely because it is about a plastic doll. Barbie by her very construction has no character, no story, she’s there to be projected upon."

Gerwig continued, “the insight that [Barbie creator] Ruth Handler had when she was watching her daughter play with baby dolls, is she realized, ‘My daughter doesn’t want to pretend to be a mother. She wants to pretend to be a grown woman.'"

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic; Sonja Flemming/CBS via Getty Images

The magic of Gerwig's Barbie is that it takes this long-running brand of dolls and infuses it with modern ideas of feminism and patriarchy. Barbie star and producer Margot Robbie told EW last year that she thinks this fits in with the doll's history of controversy (of which, yes, the prominent breasts were the first example.)

“I think Barbie’s been capturing people’s attention since the day she was invented. She is an icon but she’s a very complicated one," Robbie told EW. "There’s been times when Barbie has been ahead of her times and there’s been times when she’s been behind her times, but she’s always been evolving. I feel like this movie’s the next evolution.”

After topping the 2023 box office and scoring several award nominations for Barbie, Gerwig's next project will be adapting C.S. Lewis' beloved fantasy book series The Chronicles of Narnia for Netflix. But the Barbie phenomenon isn't over yet. The film won the Golden Globes' new award for box office achievement, and scored several nominations for the SAG Awards on Wednesday. Stay tuned to see how it fares at this year's Oscars.

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

Related content:

Related articles
Lil Nas X helped his brother come out as bisexual: 'He opened a door for me'
Movies
Lil Nas X helped his brother come out as bisexual: 'He opened a door for me'
Published on January 15, 2026 EDT
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3How
Movies
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3How
Published on January 15, 2026 EDT
Widow ClicquotHaley Bennett on turning heartache into bubbly success as the Grande Dame of Champagne in
Movies
Widow ClicquotHaley Bennett on turning heartache into bubbly success as the Grande Dame of Champagne in
Published on January 15, 2026 EDT
Dashing Through the SnowLil Rel Howery's Santa crashes Ludacris' Christmas Eve in
Movies
Dashing Through the SnowLil Rel Howery's Santa crashes Ludacris' Christmas Eve in
Published on January 15, 2026 EDT
The KillerMichael Fassbender slays in teaser for David Fincher's
Movies
The KillerMichael Fassbender slays in teaser for David Fincher's
Published on January 15, 2026 EDT
The Equalizer 4Director Antoine Fuqua would make
Movies
The Equalizer 4Director Antoine Fuqua would make
Published on January 15, 2026 EDT
13 Going on 30 McG teases 'meta' nods to
Movies
13 Going on 30 McG teases 'meta' nods to
Published on January 15, 2026 EDT
You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah director on the 'magic' of the Sandler family
Movies
You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah director on the 'magic' of the Sandler family
Published on January 15, 2026 EDT
The Marsh King's DaughterDaisy Ridley has a dark family secret in trailer for
Movies
The Marsh King's DaughterDaisy Ridley has a dark family secret in trailer for
Published on January 15, 2026 EDT