Current:Home > InvestBill Maher Ken-not with Barbie fighting the patriarchy: 'This movie is so 2000-LATE' -VisionFunds
Bill Maher Ken-not with Barbie fighting the patriarchy: 'This movie is so 2000-LATE'
Fastexy Exchange View
Date:2025-04-06 21:11:55
Bill Maher doesn't think Greta Gerwig's representation of life in plastic is all that fantastic.
The "Real Time" host shared his thoughts Monday about "Barbie" on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Though the film starring Margot Robbie as the titular character has surpassed $1 billion at the box office since its July 21 release date, Maher wasn't impressed.
"I was hoping it wouldn't be preachy, man-hating, and a #ZombieLie - alas, it was all three," Maher began. He described a "zombie lie" as "something that never was true, but certain people refuse to stop saying it (tax cuts for the rich increase revenues, e.g.); OR something that USED to be true but no longer is, but certain people pretend it's still true. 'Barbie' is this kind of #ZombieLie."
'Barbie' review:Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling dazzle in hilariously heady toy story
Maher continued, taking issue with portrayal of Mattel's board in the film as "12 white men! The Patriarchy!" he wrote. "Except there's a Mattel board in real life, and it's 7 men and 5 women." Mattel's website currently identifies 11 Board of Directors, consisting of six men and five women.
"OK, not perfect even-steven," Maher went on, "but not the way the board IN THE MOVIE - which takes place in 2023 - is portrayed. And not really any longer deserving of the word 'patriarchy.' Yes, there was one, and remnants of it remain - but this movie is so 2000-LATE."
"I know, I know, 'How could I know about the patriarchy, I AM a man!'" Maher wrote, preemptively going on the defense. "That argument is so old and so silly. Of course, none of us can know exactly what others go through life, but I can see the world around me, and I can read data.
"The real Mattel board is a pretty close mirror of the country, where 45% of the 449 board seats filled last year in Fortune 500 companies were women," Maher added. "Barbie is fun, I enjoyed it - but it IS a #ZombieLie," Maher wrote in conclusion. "Let's live in the year we're living in! Hi Ken!!!"
Though, it appears Maher might be quoting from older data. According to this year's Heidrick & Struggles' Board Monitor US report, there were 414 Fortune 500 board appointments made in 2022 (a decrease from 449 in 2021). And only 40% of the 2022 openings were filled by women, per the report, down from 45% in 2021. Furthermore, the company's analysis of CEOs released in 2022 found that women made up 7% of CEOs around the world. Last year women in America "earned an average of 82% of what men earned," per Pew Research Center findings that looked at "median hourly earnings of both full- and part-time workers."
'Barbie' ending:Greta Gerwig talks 'emotional' final line, creator Ruth Handler (Spoilers!)
veryGood! (36399)
Related
- B.A. Parker is learning the banjo
- Taylor Swift's best friend since childhood gives birth to sweet baby boy
- Romanian gymnast Ana Bărbosu gets Olympic medal amid Jordan Chiles controversy
- Velasquez pleads no contest to attempted murder in shooting of man charged with molesting relative
- All That You Wanted to Know About She’s All That
- Harris reveals good-vibes economic polices. Experts weigh in.
- When is deadly force justified? Recent police killings raise questions
- Watch: Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey nails 66-yard field goal
- How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
- Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Richard Secord fights on: once in Vietnam, now within family
Ranking
- SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters
- Jana Duggar Reveals Move to New State After Wedding to Stephen Wissmann
- Memo to Pittsburgh Steelers: It's time to make Justin Fields, not Russell Wilson, QB1
- Wait, what does 'price gouging' mean? How Harris plans to control it in the grocery aisle
- How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
- Hundreds of miles away, Hurricane Ernesto still affects US beaches with rip currents, house collapse
- When does 'Emily in Paris' Season 4 Part 2 come out? Release date, how to watch new episodes
- Shootings reported at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland between guards and passing vehicle
Recommendation
US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
Johnny Bananas and Other Challenge Stars Reveal Why the Victory Means More Than the Cash Prize
Orange County police uncover secret drug lab with 300,000 fentanyl pills
Governor declares emergency after thunderstorms hit northwestern Arkansas
Elon Musk's skyrocketing net worth: He's the first person with over $400 billion
Maurice Williams, writer and lead singer of ‘Stay,’ dead at 86
Springtime Rain Crucial for Getting Wintertime Snowmelt to the Colorado River, Study Finds
Fire breaks out at London’s Somerset House, home to priceless works by Van Gogh, Cezanne