Ryan Gosling claps back at critics claiming he's too 'old' to play Ken in Barbie

Hollywood star Ryan Gosling has the perfect response to criticism about his casting in the Barbie movie. Shutting down critics who called him too “old” to play Ken in the live-action adaptation of the Mattel dolls, the actor claims people “never cared” about Barbie’s counterpart before.

In a new interview with a magazine, the 42-year-old actor is asked about the debate that broke out among different generations of Barbie fans after photographs and trailer for the movie were unveiled earlier this year.

He initially gives a diplomatic response as saying, “I would say, you know, if people don’t want to play with my Ken, there are many other Kens to play with.” Later, as the magazine notes The Gray Man star brings it up again. “It is funny,” he adds, “this kind of clutching-your-pearls idea of, like, #notmyken. Like you ever thought about Ken before this?”

Directed by Greta Gerwig, Barbie stars Margot Robbie as the titular doll with Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Alexandra Shipp, Dua Lipa and others as different variations of Barbie. Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Scott Evans, Ncutti Gatwa and John Cena play different variations of Ken. It will be released in US theaters on July 21.