Margot Robbie opened up about those viral Barbie movie set photos that hit the internet earlier this year. Robbie stars in Barbie alongside Ryan Gosling as Ken. In addition to the odd pair of Gosling and Robbie, the film features an eclectic supporting cast of Emma Mackey, Will Ferrell, Kate McKinnon, Simu Liu, Alexandra Shipp, America Ferrera, and Michael Cera, and is directed by hit indie director Greta Gerwig. Barbie will not be coming to theaters until summer 2023, but has already gained significant hype during its production.
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The hyped elements of Barbie were far-reaching, including fan theories regarding the presence of multiple Kens and Barbies, and strong reactions to the initial poster featuring Robbie in a pink Barbie car. Barbie thus became the talk of the internet early on, despite very few details being revealed about the film. This Barbie obsession ramped up significantly once Barbie began shooting exteriors in LA. Barbie was filmed publicly on Venice Beach and pictures from passerby showed Robbie and Gosling in neon Barbie outfits, walking together and wearing rollerblades. These photos became distributed to the masses and were the subject of countless memes across the internet.
In a recent interview with The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Robbie revealed that she was “mortified” by the public filming, even before she had any idea how far the photos and resulting memes would go. Despite the fact that she and Gosling “look like [they’re] like laughing and having fun,” Robbie explains that they were in fact “dying on the inside” in what she describes as “the most humiliating moment of [her] life.” She also explained that during the shooting, “hundreds of people” gathered to watch Gosling and Robbie. Check out the full quote from Robbie:
Margot Robbie: I can’t tell you how mortified we were by the way. We look like we’re like laughing and having fun, but dying on the inside. Dying. I was like, this is the most humiliating moment of my life.
Jimmy Fallon: Did you realize it was going to go everywhere all over the internet?
Margot Robbie. No! I mean I knew that we had some exteriors to shoot in LA. I knew, okay, once you were doing exteriors, you're gonna get papped. There’s probably going to be a little crowd of people who are going to stand out, because, you know, we stand out a little bit in those outfits. So I knew there was going to be a little bit of attention, and probably some photos would get out there, but not like it did. It was like mad. It was like hundreds of people watching.
Despite her mortification, Robbie still recounted the Barbie experience in good spirits during the interview with Fallon. Luckily for Robbie, Barbie’s outdoor shooting days are long over and the film is now in post-production. Still, Robbie’s recollection of the “mad” experience of shooting itself and the interior reactions of her and Gosling behind the vibrant facade are an amusing reminder of Barbie’s filming period.
Barbie’s outdoor shoots may be a thing of the past, but that will not stop the internet from continuing on its meme track leading up to Barbie’s release. The set photos, along with a video of Gosling’s Ken scream, still circulate in countless memes across the internet. This spoofing is almost sure to resurface once Barbie’s trailers eventually come out. As soon as fans are fed more content, the storm of Barbie memes is sure to follow.