Warner Bros Japan Apologises For Replying To Atom Bomb Meme On ‘Barbenheimer’

The 'Barbenheimer' phenomenon has taken the globe by storm as both 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer' have become two of the biggest and most discussed films of 2023. As social media users hopped on to the trend, the official ‘Barbie’ movie account on X replied to certain memes which resulted in online outrage.

The meme showed Barbie actor Margot Robbie sitting on the shoulder of Cillian Murphy who plays the titular role in Oppenheimer, with an explosion in the background. The ‘Barbie’ movie X account replied to it stating, “It’s going to be a summer to remember.”

Another meme also showed Margot with a mushroom cloud hairstyle. The account replied: "This Ken is a stylist.”

The USA bombed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945) during World War II in what was the first use of atomic weapons in war. 'Oppenheimer' chronicles the life and dubious achievements of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who is credited with developing the atomic bomb.

After receiving flak, Warner Bros Japan issued a statement which read, “We consider it extremely regrettable that the official account of the American headquarters for the movie Barbie reacted to the social media postings of ‘Barbenheimer’ fans. We take this situation very seriously. We are asking the US headquarters to take appropriate action. We apologise to those who were offended by this series of inconsiderate reactions. Warner Bros Japan.”

For those unversed, Warner Bros is the distributor for the ‘Barbie’ movie worldwide.

Meanwhile, the Greta Gerwig-directed film 'Barbie' stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in the lead roles, as Barbie and Ken, respectively. It was released in theatres on July 21.

On the other hand, 'Oppenheimer' directed by Christopher Nolan also stars Florence Pugh, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, and Gary Oldman in the lead roles.