Ryan Gosling is clapping back at trolls who have a problem with him being cast as Ken in the upcoming “Barbie” film due to his “old” age.
“I would say, you know, if people don’t want to play with my Ken, there are many other Kens to play with,” the 42-year-old told GQ in a new interview this week.
Gosling said that he thinks the discourse is “funny” given that people didn’t think about Ken before he was cast.
“But suddenly, it’s like, ‘No, we’ve cared about Ken this whole time,” he added. “No, you didn’t. You never did. You never cared. Barbie never f–ked with Ken. That’s the point.
The “Notebook” star concluded, “If you ever really cared about Ken, you would know that nobody cared about Ken. So your hypocrisy is exposed. This is why his story must be told.”
Although Gosling believes no one cares about Ken, he jokingly admitted that he feels like the fictional character’s “representative.”
“I care about this dude now. I’m like his representative,” he quipped. “‘Ken couldn’t show up to receive this award, so I’m here to accept it for him.’”
After the trailer for the Greta Gerwig-directed film hit social media back in April, several Gen Z fans expressed their concern over Gosling being cast because of his age.
“[R]yan gosling is too old to be playing ken i’m sorry his wrinkles are taking me out of the experience,” one fan tweeted.
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“I like Ryan Gosling but idk [I don’t know] why he looks a little too old and dry. Not sure if it’s because of the hair or tan but he needed some moisturizer,” another complained.
“Ryan gosling is too ugly and too old to be playing ken, they should’ve casted (sic) henry cavill or chris evans bye,” a third hater wrote.
However, several other fans defended Gosling taking on the role, saying that Ken is technically 62 years old.
“Ken is 62 years [email protected] is only 42. So let’s not talk about who’s too old to be playing whom,” tweeted one supporter, while another added, “For the record I like Ryan Gosling as Ken. No one cared about Ken and now suddenly everyone cares if it’s a 40 year old actor playing Ken?”
“Barbie” hits theaters on July 21 and also stars Margot Robbie, Issa Rae, Simu Liu, Will Ferrell, America Ferrera and Scott Evans.