Oliver Stone has issued an apology to Ryan Gosling for blasting the actor for playing the role of Ken in the wildly popular "Barbie" film, while calling his own comments ignorant.
The legendary director posted a statement Monday on X, praising the movie for its "originality" and "themes" after he accused Gosling of accepting the role of Barbie’s boyfriend solely for monetary reasons in a recently resurfaced 2023 interview.
In his post on X, Stone wrote that he “was able to see 'Barbie' in a theater back in July and appreciated the film for its originality and its themes.” He added, “I found the filmmakers’ approach certainly different than what I expected. I apologize for speaking ignorantly.”
Stone also gave kudos to "Barbie" director Greta Gerwig, saying her 2017 flick, "Ladybird," was one of his favorites that year. As you know, Gerwig's "Barbie" was the highest-grossing film of 2023, raking in more than $1.4 billion at the box office while costarring Margot Robbie as Barbie alongside Gosling's Ken.
Stone made his controversial statements about Gosling during a June 2023 interview with City A.M. -- just weeks before Barbie was to be released in theaters.
Stone told a reporter Gosling was "wasting his time if he's doing that s*** for money," referring to "Barbie."
The director also slammed Gosling for being "a part of this infantilization of Hollywood." Stone added, "Now it’s all fantasy, fantasy, fantasy, including all the war pictures: fantasy, fantasy."