Warner Bros. Japan has issued a statement criticizing what it describes as "extremely regrettable" tweets by Barbenheimer shared from Barbie 's official US Twitter account. The statement, posted on Barbie Japan's own account and which has received tens of thousands of likes, reads after translation:
- « We find it extremely regrettable that the official account of the US headquarters for the movie 'Barbie' has reacted to the social media posts from 'Barbenheimer' fans. We take this situation very seriously. We are asking the US headquarters to take appropriate action. We apologize to those who were offended by this series of ill-considered reactions »
The #NoBarbenheimer hashtag has been trending in Japan in recent days, as many Twitter users have been disturbed by online memes and images of mushroom atomics and explosions juxtaposed with more playful images of Barbie. Many claim that the images trivialize nuclear weapons and the devastating consequences of the bomb on the country and its citizens.
Warner Bros. Japan's frustration stems from the Barbie account's positive responses to ' Barbenheimer ' footage , including a response to a viral fan-made poster shared by the ' Discussing Film ' movie account . The fictional poster features the actor ' Oppenheimer '. Cillian Murphy carrying ' Barbie ' star Margot Robbie on his shoulder with nuclear flames surrounding him.
In response to the post, the 'Barbie' account in the United States responded: " It will be a summer to remember ." Twitter, which recently changed its name to X, added a community note to the post highlighting the historical context of the image. « On August 6, 1945, at 8:15 am, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima for the first time in human history. The particular nature of the damage caused by the atomic bombs is that mass destruction and murder occurred instantly and indiscriminately ," the note reads.
And, of course, important comments from Japan could not be missing:
- « The Barbie movie is doomed to fail in Japan because the official creators have fully embraced the memeification of the atomic bomb and images of the nuclear mushroom. As much as it is said that it was just excited fans and that the official creators had no intention, the situation cannot be saved. It's over ».
- « It has been revealed that the movie “Barbie”, despite being accused of feminism or political correctness, is welcomed by American liberals, who seem to find amusement in making jokes about the atomic bombing. For them, using the atomic bombing as humorous material does not contradict their norms of political correctness ».
- « Indeed, it is objectionable from the point of view of political correctness that the official team of 'Barbie' is enthusiastic about Oppenheimer. However, seeing a response like “I don't usually like political correctness, but this time, I'll make an exception and complain” left me with a sense of disbelief that they only use it when they are directly involved… » .
- « My grandfather was in Hiroshima until a few days before the atomic bomb was dropped. He said that he saw the mushroom cloud from the train when he was coming home. Among those who perished under that nuclear mushroom were many girls who were the same age as those who played with the Barbie dolls. I have absolute contempt for the official team of the Barbie movie, which seems not to understand this reality ».
