‘Barbie,’ not so fantastic: Margot Robbie shut out from best actress in brutal Oscars snub

And the snub goes to …

The 2024 Oscar nominations are here, and the snubs are brutal – including Margot Robbie, Leonardo DiCaprio and more. 

Many of the nominations were expected: “Oppenheimer” got a total of 13 nods – including “Best Actor” for Cillian Murphy, “Best Supporting Actor” for Robert Downey Jr. and “Best Director” for Christopher Nolan.

Bradley Cooper got nominated for “Maestro,” Emma Stone scored a nod for “Poor Things,” and Lily Gladstone earned a nomination for “Killers of the Flower Moon,” making history as the first Native American actress from the United States to get this recognition.

But, this year’s selection also had some head-scratching choices, and outlandish exclusions.

Ryan Gosling nabbed a “best supporting actor” role for his goofy portrayal of Ken in “Barbie.” 

The Oscars historically don’t reward comedy performances, so that’s essentially a throw-away nomination to leave the “Supporting Actor” category a race against his other four competitors. The movie also got a “Best Picture” nod, but star Margot Robbie and director Greta Gerwig both got snubbed. 

How can a movie get a “Best Picture” nomination without recognition for its director – did “Barbie” direct itself? 

Bizarrely, America Ferrera nabbed a nomination for that flick (for “Best Supporting Actress”). She was fine in that role and delivered what it needed, but it was not Oscar material on any planet. It would be like if Zooey Deschanel had gotten an Oscar nomination for her supporting role the year that “Elf” came out. 

Even the animated category wasn’t free from snubs, as it ignored Disney’s “Wish” starring Ariana DeBose and Chris Pine.

In addition to Gosling and Downey Jr, the “Best Supporting Actor” category gave recognition to Sterling K. Brown (“American Fiction,”) Robert De Niro ( “Killers of the Flower Moon”) and Mark Ruffalo (“Poor Things”). 

There are two glaring absences from that category: Leonardo DiCaprio’s slimy portrayal of Ernest Burkhart in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and Charles Melton’s heartbreaking portrayal of grooming survivor Joe in “May December,” (a snub that many have already called a “disgrace”).

In fact, the entire movie “May December” got snubbed, save for a “Best Screenplay” nod – including Julianne Moore, Natalie Portman, and director Todd Haynes, despite the fact that Melton, Moore and Portman got Golden Globe nominations. 

Emerald Fennell’s nasty, colorful “Saltburn” starring Jacob Elordi also got snubbed. Maybe that bathtub scene or the nude dancing was too much for the Academy Awards’ sensibilities. But at the very least, it could have given a nod to Barry Keoghan. Especially when the Oscars had time for him last year, when he (deservedly) got nominated for “The Banshees of  Inisherin.”

We can only hope somebody will slap host Jimmy Kimmel to liven up this year’s telecast. 

The 2024 Oscars will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and air in a new earlier timeslot (7 p.m.) on March 10 on ABC.