House Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, is accusing the Academy Awards of sexism over the exclusion of the film “Barbie” from the Best Director category.
The congressman added a high-profile voice to the internet’s progressive-fueled outrage over director Greta Gerwig not getting a mention for the 2023 summer hit.
“Hollywood still has a big problem with women. In 2022, women made up 11% of directors (of top 250 grossing films),” Castro wrote on X.
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Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, is accusing the Academy Awards of sexism over the exclusion of the film ‘Barbie’ from the Best Director category. (Getty Images)
“So in 2023 Greta Gerwig: 1. Directs Barbie, year’s highest grossing film at $1.4B; 2. Provides coattails to Oppenheimer ($1B); 3. Saves [Warner Bros. Discovery’s] disastrous year.”
He concluded, “How do you end up directing the biggest hit of the year, a cultural phenomenon, and not get an Oscar nomination for best director? Be a female director in Hollywood, apparently.”
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Rep. Joaquin Castro slammed Hollywood for director Greta Gerwig’s Oscars snub
But he wasn’t the only national Democratic figure to chime in; Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton chimed in with a message to the movie’s lead actress and director.
“Greta & Margot, While it can sting to win the box office but not take home the gold, your millions of fans love you. You’re both so much more than Kenough,” Clinton wrote on X.
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Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also sent a public message to Gerwig (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
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“Barbie,” along with Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” was credited with saving the movie industry from a lingering post-COVID slump.
It was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Actor for Ryan Gosling, who played the titular doll’s boyfriend Ken, and a Supporting Actress nod for America Ferrera.
But left-wing activists complained at the lack of a nod for both Gerwig and the movie’s lead actress, Margot Robbie.
Fox News Digital reached out to Castro’s office and the Academy for comment.