Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Warner Bros. Apologizes After Tone-Deaf 'Barbenheimer' Memes Spark Outrage In Japan

The Warner Bros. studio lot and iconic water tower with a pink logo to commemorate the "Barbie" movie
AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

The studio is apologizing after atomic bomb memes promoting the double feature of 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer' were responded to by the 'Barbie' film's official Twitter account, upsetting many Japanese fans.

Warner Bros. was forced to apologize for its "insensitive social media engagement" after its tone-deaf memes for the hit films Barbieand Oppenheimer—which have taken social media by storm as the unlikely double feature "Barbenheimer"—sparked outrage in Japan.

The turmoil ignited when the official Barbie Twitter account responded positively to "Barbenheimer" memes, which contained atomic bomb jokes. The memes featured images of Barbie star Margot Robbie and Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy against apocalyptic backdrops.


In response to one meme, the Barbie Twitter account responded:

"We're always thinking PINK."

You can see it below.

Twitter screenshot of the "Barbie" account's response to an atomic bomb meme@MovieMantz/Twitter; @barbiethemovie/Twitter

To another, similar meme, the account replied:

"It's going to be a summer to remember."

You can see it below.

Twitter screenshot of the "Barbie" account's response to an atomic bomb meme@SteveReeves/Twitter; @barbiethemovie/Twitter

Additionally, the account responded to one Twitter user—who had edited Robbie's hair into the shape of an atomic bomb mushroom cloud—with the following:

"This Ken is a stylist."

You can see it below.

Twitter screenshot of the "Barbie" account's response to an atomic bomb meme@alex_icon/Twitter; @barbiethemovie/Twitter

Social media users in Japan swiftly expressed their anger under the hashtag #NoBarbenheimer.

Given the upcoming release of Barbie in Japan, scheduled around the anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the timing was especially insensitive and offensive to many.




On August 6 and August 9, 1945, the United States executed the detonation of two atomic bombs above the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, correspondingly.

The aerial assaults resulted in the demise of an estimated 129,000 to 226,000 individuals, predominantly civilians. These incidents remain unparalleled as the sole deployment of nuclear weaponry in an armed conflict.

n the ensuing span of two to four months, the aftermath of the atomic bombings resulted in the passing of an estimated 90,000 to 146,000 lives in Hiroshima and 60,000 to 80,000 lives in Nagasaki. Roughly half of these casualties transpired on the initial day of the bombings.

Over the subsequent months, a multitude of individuals continued to succumb to the consequences of burns, radiation sickness, injuries, and a compounding of afflictions stemming from illness and malnutrition. The majority of those lost were civilians.

Scholars have undertaken exhaustive scrutiny of the ramifications of these bombings on the subsequent course of global history and prevailing popular culture.

The ethical and legal grounds for the bombings remain a subject of intense debate. Advocates argue that the employment of atomic bombs was an essential measure to hasten the conclusion of the war with minimal loss of life.

On the contrary, critics contend that the bombings were excessive for achieving the war's cessation, branding them as an affront to morality and ethics, highlighting the deliberate nuclear assault on civilian populations as a grave war crime.

Responding to the public backlash, the Japanese "Barbie" Twitter account issued an apology, condemning the U.S. counterpart's actions as "extremely regrettable."

Warner Bros. also issued a formal apology and pledged to remove the offensive tweets, telling Variety:

“Warner Brothers regrets its recent insensitive social media engagement. The studio offers a sincere apology."

The tweets were seen by many as making light of tragic historical events and were met with widespread condemnation.





Both Barbie and Oppenheimer have faced controversy beyond Japan.

In Vietnam, Barbie was banned due to a scene depicting China's "nine-dash line"—which indicates the territorial claims of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China in the South China Sea—in a move that angered officials.

Oppenheimer faced criticism in India for referencing a sacred Hindu text in a sex scene and for not adequately addressing the stories of those affected by the development of the atomic bomb.

More from Trending

Screenshot of Nick Fuentes
America First

White Nationalist Admits That Liberals Were Right About Trump Being A 'Demagogue'

Far-right pundit and white nationalist Nick Fuentes admitted on his show that "liberals were right, fundamentally" about President Donald Trump, acknowledging Trump's brand of authoritarian populism by referring to him as a "populist demagogue."

In its modern sense, a demagogue is a political agitator who seeks to advance their political goals or personal power by appealing to people’s emotions, prejudices, and hardships.

Keep ReadingShow less
scene from Disney's Pocahontas
Disney

'Based On A True Story' Movies That Aren't True At All

The entertainment industry has long been criticized for their creative license when it comes to retelling history or anything "based on a true story."

Going back to the silent film era and D.W. Griffith's ridiculously inaccurate White supremacist propaganda Birth Of A Nation to Mel Gibson's Braveheart to Disney's Pocahontas, some films go way beyond creative license and careen into total malarkey.

Keep ReadingShow less
A person holding a fan of cash.
person holding fan of U.S. dollars banknote

People Describe The Moment They Realized They Were Privileged

There is little more off-putting than when people flaunt their wealth and privilege in other people's faces.

On the flip side, not everyone takes kindly to wealthy people who act like they're "one of us".

Keep ReadingShow less
Elon Musk
Kevin Lamarque/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Musk's AI Chatbot Throws Republicans Under The Bus After Being Asked About Economy

Grok, billionaire Elon Musk's very own chatbot, threw Republicans under the bus after software engineer Alex Coke asked it if Democrats or Republicans have been better for the economy in the past 30 years, only for it to answer that yes, in fact, Democrats are the winners when it comes to economic policy.

Economic policy is certainly on everyone's minds these days. A new CNN poll conducted by SSRS shows that Americans are not pleased with President Donald Trump’s management of the economy, leaving him with unfavorable ratings on what is considered the nation’s most important issue.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Donald Trump
Fox 5 Washington D.C./YouTube

CNN Airs Brutal Reminder Of Trump's Previous Economic Predictions—And They Did Not Age Well

CNN came with the receipts, airing a supercut of clips from 2020 and 2024 of President Donald Trump making hilariously wrong economic predictions—a damning reel of evidence as financial markets decline and investor concerns grow over Trump’s trade policies.

In fact, Trump’s escalating trade war pushed the S&P 500 more than 10% below its record high set just last month. A drop of this size is significant enough that professional investors call it a “correction,” and the S&P 500’s 1.4% decline on Thursday marked its first since 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less