Barbie Star Margot Robbie Says She and Ryan Gosling Were Mortified After Set Photos Leaked

The leaking of Barbie set photos starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling left the former feeling mortified. Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling portray the titular Barbie and Ken, respectively, who millions are familiar with as dolls. The movie will see different variations of the characters in their stylish costumes, but all eyes were on Robbie and Gosling when Barbie set photos were leaked in late June. The images showed the duo in the bright, colorful clothing Barbie and Ken dolls are sold with. The leaking of set photos isn’t a new occurrence, but Margot Robbie admitted seeing themselves in the outfits left them “dying on the inside.”

Margot Robbie was a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote Barbie and David O. Russell’s Amsterdam. Fallon showed Robbie one of the set photos of herself and Ryan Gosling, which led to her commenting on the insecure feelings it brought up. 

“I can’t tell you how mortified we were, by the way,” Robbie said. “We look like we’re laughing, having fun, but dying on the inside.” She lamented how “this is the most humiliating moment of my life.”

Fallon asked Robbie if she knew the photos would make their way to the Internet. She said that they knew there were some exterior shots in L.A., so there’s always the possibility of paparazzi snapping photos and crowds observing. However, they were not prepared for the massive attention that their filming wound up attracting.

At the premiere of his Netflix film The Gray Man, Gosling told Variety that he thinks Kens will “feel seen” with the movie.

“This has been coming my whole life,” Gosling said, a bit jokingly. “I think a lot of Kens will feel seen when they see this. Gotta do it for the Kens of the world. Nobody plays with Kens!”

As for what to expect in Barbie, Gosling told ET that the film isn’t what anyone thinks it is — and he doesn’t think that anyone has really figured it out just yet.

“It’s not what you think it is. Unless it is,” Gosling said. “And then you know what it is, but I don’t think that’s what you think it is.”

Barbie will be directed by Greta Gerwig, with a script from Gerwig and Noah Baumbach. Robbie, who had been rumored to be attached to the project since 2018, will also be producing the project through her LuckyChap banner. The cast of the film will also include America Ferrera, Simu Liu, Kate McKinnon, Ariana Greenblatt, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Issa Rae, Michael Cera, Rhea Perlman, Will Ferrell, Ncuti Gatwa, Emerald Fennell, Hari Nef, Sharon Rooney, Scott Evans, Ana Cruz Kayne, Connor Swindells, Ritu Arya, and Jamie Demetriou.

Barbie will be released exclusively in theaters on July 21, 2023.