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It’s been a week since Barbie (and, to a lesser extent, Oppenheimer) saved cinema thanks to its record-breaking haul at the box office, which was made possible with the help of the star-studded cast that lured people to movie theaters around the world.
Anyone who’d seen Crazy, Stupid, Love or The Nice Guys already knew Ryan Gosling had some incredibly impressive comedic chops, but he arguably outdid himself with his incredible portrayal of Ken, the historically overshadowed Beach employee and visionary founder of the Mojo Dojo Casa House.
Ken’s primary antagonist in Barbie is the Tourist Ken portrayed by Simu Liu, who reunited with him on the red carpet (or, to be accurate, the pink carpet) when the movie screened in Toronto at the end of June.
There were plenty of people who thought Gosling didn’t have to act that hard while showing his disdain for the rival Ken on the set of Barbie based on a video that went viral earlier this week thanks to the awkward Kenergy it radiated, as it sure seemed like Gosling had officially had Kenough of his co-star based on how he reacted when Liu placed his arm on his lower back.
You asked for it! Here’s the full clip of Ryan Gosling and Simu Liu interacting on the #Barbie movie red carpet in Toronto 💕 The Kenmance is strong 💪 pic.twitter.com/D8uoWbCR0P
— Etalk (@etalkCTV) July 26, 2023
There was some speculation Gosling and the rest of the cast weren’t huge fans of Liu based on an interview where Margot Robbie said the actor had a lot in common with the character he portrayed (which isn’t exactly flattering), and now, the star of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has responded in an attempt to put rumors of any bad blood to rest.
Liu hopped on his Instagram Story and attempted to frame the interaction as a joke on Gosling’s part, saying:
“He is the best human in every way, especially when he jokes around with us on the carpet and on set, infecting all of us with his Kenergy…
Now let’s get back to the issues that matter, like supporting our striking actors and writers fighting for fair wages!”
This whole thing seems fairly overblown, but I doubt that will stop plenty of people from continuing to read way too into it.