One of Warner Bros.’s Barbie accounts’ comments on the Barbeinheimer memes didn’t sit well with the Japanese people, resulting in a backlash in the country. This ignites the Japanese Twitter account for the Barbie film to ask for a formal apology from its US unit, which the studio gladly obeys.
Barbie and Oppenheimer are taking the world by storm with their respective successes at the box office. As these two films were released at the same time in July, it created a phenomenon now called Barbeinheimer, a combination of the two movies’ names. However, considering Oppenheimer’s story has a huge significance in Japan’s history, the memes have sparked anger among Japanese fans, prompting Warners Bros. to apologize.
The outrage started when @barbiethemovie Twitter account responded to a meme that showed Cillian Murphy, who led Oppenheimer as J. Robert Oppenheimer, carrying Margot Robbie, who played Barbie, in front of an explosion. “It’s going to be a summer to remember,” the account wrote.
Sadly, the response didn’t go well in Japan. So, the Japanese Twitter account for Barbie issued an official statement, calling the US’s account support of the crossover “extremely regrettable.”
It wrote, as translated into English:
We find the reaction to this fan-driven movement from the official US account for the movie Barbie to be extremely regrettable. We take this very seriously and are asking the US head office to take appropriate action. We apologize to those offended by these inconsiderate actions.
Later, Warner Bros. US issued an apology, claiming it was sorry about the insensitive comment in an email to Variety.
Warner Bros regrets its recent insensitive social media engagement. The studio offers a sincere apology.
The Significance of Oppenheimer in Japan
Oppenheimer tells the story of the group of people who created the atomic bombs in World War II that the US dropped on Japan. At the end of the war, Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended up being bombed, resulting in the death of hundreds of thousands of people.
Hence, nuclear war has become a big threat in the country due to its deadly experience. So, though Japan hasn’t banned the film, Universal Pictures may not release Oppenheimer in the country due to its theme.
Alternatively, Barbie won’t be released in Japanese theaters until August 11. But many already criticized the movie for siding with Oppenheimer due to its tale. It’s probably the reason why Warner Bros. Japan has distanced itself from the Barbeinheimer trend and is questioning its US counterpart for supporting it.
