Warner Bros. apologises for the Barbie movie’s atomic bomb meme response.
Warner Bros. has issued an apology following an incident involving the official Barbie Movie account responding to Barbenheimer memes featuring atomic bomb images. Some of these memes depicted Margot Robbie with a hairstyle resembling a mushroom cloud, and the official Barbie movie account’s response referred to the character Ken as a stylist.
The situation has caused outrage, especially in Japan, as Barbie is set to be released there on August 11, just five days after the 78th anniversary of the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima. The use of such imagery in the context of the atomic bomb attacks has sparked the hashtag #NoBarbenheimer on social media.
Among the memes that triggered the backlash was one featuring Cillian Murphy, who portrayed Robert Oppenheimer, also known as the “father of the atomic bomb,” carrying Margot Robbie through a burning city. The official Barbie movie account responded by saying, “It’s going to be a summer to be remembered.”
Warner Bros. Japan expressed regret for the American headquarters’ reaction to the “Barbenheimer” fans’ social media posts in a statement on its own Barbie account. A day later, Warner Bros.’ US headquarters apologised for the insensitive social media engagement.
Twitter, now rebranded as X, has added community notes to original posts to emphasise the historical context of the atomic bomb attacks on Japan, acknowledging the estimated death tolls and the devastating impact of the bombings.
Many social media users in Japan shared personal stories of family members affected by the atomic bomb attacks, with one person revealing that their grandfather was in Hiroshima shortly before the bomb was dropped, and among the victims were children who were of an age to play with Barbie dolls.
The city of Hiroshima continues to work towards raising awareness about the physical and psychological impact of nuclear bombs as well as promoting hope for nuclear disarmament, even 78 years after the tragic event.
As for the film “Oppenheimer,” there has been no announcement yet regarding its release date in Japan by its distributor.