Margot Robbie says Barbie ‘should never be sexy’

Margot Robbie has said that while Barbie has been “sexualised”, she “should never be sexy”.

The Australian actor, who is starring as the doll in Greta Gerwig’s forthcoming film Barbie, reflected on the discussion over whether her role would be “sexy”.

In a new interview with US Vogue, Robbie explained her thought process and said: “I’m like, OK, she’s a doll. She’s a plastic doll. She doesn’t have organs, she doesn’t have reproductive organs.

“If she doesn’t have reproductive organs, would she even feel sexual desire? No, I don’t think she could.”

Robbie, 32, said that people “can project sex onto” Barbie, but pointed towards a difference between that and the doll being “sexy”.

“Yes, she can wear a short skirt, but because it’s fun and pink. Not because she wanted you to see her butt,” the Suicide Squad star added.

Robbie is featuring on the cover of the fashion magazine’s 2023 summer issue. Her co-star Ryan Gosling, who plays Ken, also spoke to US Vogue for the interview.

He revealed that Robbie left him “a pink present with a pink bow” every day that they were filming, “from Barbie to Ken”.

The presents were all beach-related, Gosling recalled. “Like puka shells or a sign that says ‘Pray for surf’. Because Ken’s job is just beach,” he said.

“I’ve never quite figured out what that means. But I felt like she was trying to help Ken understand, through these gifts she was giving.”

Other celebrities in the star-studded cast include Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Issa Raw, Michael Cera, Will Ferrell, Helen Mirren, and more.

Last month, Robbie revealed her initial reaction to reading the script for Barbie. The film was co-written by Gerwig and Noah Baumbach.

She told Bafta: “The first time I read the Barbie script, my reaction was, ‘Ah! This is so good. What a shame it will never see the light of day. Because they are never going to let us make this movie.’”

In her latest interview, she added that both she and her husband Tom Ackerley reacted the same way.

“We just looked at each other, pure panic on our faces. We were like, ‘Holy f***ing s***’. I think the first thing I said to Tom was, ‘This is so ingenious. What a shame that we’re never going to be able to make this movie.’”

Barbie is set for release in the UK on 21 July.