Former Secretary of State, First Lady, U.S. Senator and Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has taken a hammer to numerous glass ceilings in her time. Today she sent her hammer, by way of social media, to Hollywood, joining the growing disappointment in the most famous — and some say egregious — Oscars snub in recent history.
Neither director Greta Gerwig, nor star Margot Robbie was nominated for an Academy Award for their work on the giant, immediately iconic, culture-changing summer blockbuster Barbie, while the male-dominated Oppenheimer — Barbie‘s bookend in the promotional super-pairing known as Barbenheimer — led all Oscar contenders with 13 nominations, including Best Director for Christopher Nolan.
[NOTE: Barbie is nominated for Best Picture, and co-stars Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera were nominated for best supporting roles. Yet the director and star went unacknowledged; as MSNBC host Jennifer Palmieri wrote: “My God. It was nominated for best picture. Didn’t direct itself, friends!”]
Greta & Margot,
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) January 24, 2024
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.#HillaryBarbie
Clinton, who at the State Department negotiated important geopolitical deals with long-lasting impact on global affairs, threw her hammer at the paltry-by-comparison Oscars snub because Hollywood is often the truest barometer of where the broader American culture is at any given moment.
And with so many decrying the snub as more Hollywood sexism, reflecting the broader world, the snub becomes more than just a debate about a movie — it becomes a debate about the country.
As The Decider unambiguously headlined its story on the snub: “Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ and ‘Little Women’ Best Director Snubs Are Sexist, End Of Story.”
Clinton doesn’t come out and say “sexist” like The Decider and others, but she empathizes with “Greta & Margot,” as she writes. Clinton knows what it’s like to lose something lots of people thought you should win and to pretend sexism played no role because that would sound like sour grapes.
