Warner Bros. Movie Group has apologized for its “insensitive” social media exercise relating to Barbenheimer after the studio’s Japan department criticized its U.S. counterpart for partaking in “thoughtless” reactions to memes that includes atom bomb photographs.
“Warner Brothers regrets its current insensitive social media engagement. The studio presents a honest apology,” the corporate mentioned in a press release issued to Deadline, with the outlet additionally noting that the studio seems to be deleting the offending tweets from the platform in response to the current backlash.
These swift actions from the studio observe Warner Bros. Japan’s assertion condemning the U.S. Barbie Twitter account for publishing what the corporate described as “extraordinarily regrettable” tweets in response to Barbenheimer memes, with many individuals accusing the posts of trivializing nuclear battle with their imagery.
One tweet featured a fan-made Barbenheimer poster with Margot Robbie’s Barbie smiling atop Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy’s shoulders whereas a nuclear explosion looms behind them. The U.S. Barbie Twitter account commented, “It will be a summer time to recollect,” adopted by a kiss-blowing emoji and two hearts.
Twitter (now generally known as X) added a neighborhood notice to the unique put up highlighting the historic context of the picture. “At 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945 (Showa 20), an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima for the primary time in human historical past,” the notice mentioned. “The actual nature of the injury brought on by the atomic bombs is that mass destruction and mass homicide occurred instantaneously and indiscriminately.”
As extra viral photographs emerged connecting the beloved youngsters’s toy to weapons of mass destruction, the #NoBarbenheimer hashtag began trending. Customers opposed the meme-ification of Barbie and Oppenheimer and criticized Barbie’s advertising and marketing workforce for sharing insensitive posts making mild of a historic tragedy.
The Barbie film stays set for an August 11 launch in Japan. Nonetheless, Oppenheimer doesn’t but have a launch date in Japan, regardless of debuting worldwide on July 21. Common Footage, the corporate dealing with the distribution of the movie, has nonetheless not confirmed or denied plans for the interval piece to launch within the nation.
Adele Ankers-Vary is a contract leisure author for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.
