Current:Home > MarketsBill Maher Ken-not with Barbie fighting the patriarchy: 'This movie is so 2000-LATE' -ProfitPoint
Bill Maher Ken-not with Barbie fighting the patriarchy: 'This movie is so 2000-LATE'
View
Date:2025-04-13 18:33:26
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! (696)
Related
- Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
- Hayden Panettiere Debuts Bold New Look That Screams Pretty in Pink
- Massachusetts cities, towns warn dog walkers to be careful after pet snatchings by coyotes
- Anderson Cooper talks with Kelly Ripa about 'truly mortifying' Madonna concert experience
- Buckingham Palace staff under investigation for 'bar brawl'
- Paris' rental electric scooter ban has taken effect
- Suspect arrested after break-in at home of UFC president Dana White
- Yankees' Jasson Dominguez homers off Astros' Justin Verlander in first career at-bat
- Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
- Massachusetts cities, towns warn dog walkers to be careful after pet snatchings by coyotes
Ranking
- Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
- Inside Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood's Against-All-Odds Love Story
- 1 dead, another injured in shooting during Louisiana high school football game
- SpaceX launch livestream: Watch liftoff of satellites from Vandenberg base in California
- Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
- Trump's trial in Georgia will be televised, student loan payments resume: 5 Things podcast
- Why Coco Gauff vs. Caroline Wozniacki is the must-see match of the US Open
- As Hurricane Idalia caused flooding, some electric vehicles exposed to saltwater caught fire
Recommendation
What to watch: O Jolie night
The Exorcist: Believer to be released earlier to avoid competing with Taylor Swift concert movie
Jacksonville shooting prompts anger, empathy from Buffalo to Charleston
Virgo season is here! These books will please even the most discerning of the earth sign
Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
Miranda Kerr Is Pregnant With Baby No. 4, Her 3rd With Evan Spiegel
Sam Hunt Shares Rare Insight Into Family Life With Wife Hannah Lee Ahead of Baby No. 2
The Story of a Father's Unsolved Murder and the Daughter Who Made a Podcast to Find the Truth