- Whoopi Goldberg said she thought conservatives would be happy "there's no sex involved" in the "Barbie" film.
- Speaking on the talk show "The View," Goldberg hit back at conservatives who were criticizing the film online.
Whoopi Goldberg said that she thought conservatives would be happy "there's no sex involved" in the "Barbie" film.
Speaking on Tuesday's episode of the talk show "The View," Goldberg hit back at the conservative outrage surrounding the Greta Gerwig film, including the criticisms from Sen. Ted Cruz and Ben Shapiro.
"It's a movie!" Goldberg said on the show. "It's a movie about a doll! I thought you all would be happy. She has no genitalia, so there's no sex involved."
Insider previously reported that Cruz had slammed the film for being "Chinese communist propaganda" due to its depiction of a disputed region in the South China Sea, and that Shapiro had set a $69 Barbie doll on fire to protest the "woke" film.
Goldberg explained that children won't see the film the same way that adults do, because all they understand is that it's a movie about the famous doll.
"They haven't lived through what the adults have lived through, so when they're seeing this movie, that's not how they're looking at it," the 67-year-old actress said. "The kids are looking at it as a 'Barbie' movie."
Goldberg then challenges conservative viewers to explain to their children why they can't watch the film.
"You guys, I want you all to tell your daughters why you're not taking them to see the 'Barbie' movie. I want you to explain to them what's wrong with Barbie," Goldberg said.
The actress then showed off her white platform boots with decapitated Barbie doll heads inside.
"Now, look, I love my Barbie, okay? It's a doll movie, guys. I'm shocked that that's what's freaking you out these days," she said.
Goldberg's conservative co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin added that these reactions are a testament to how right-wing social media influencers are "out of touch" with actual Republicans.
"I'm so taken by some of these right-wing men who have all these thoughts on masculinity. Like, somehow, the 'Barbie' movie is going to make them feel emasculated," Griffin said. "No, caring so much about it is honestly the most emasculating thing I could think about it."
"Barbie" is rated PG-13. Common Sense Media — a site that recommends the best age for children to watch movies — recommended that kids be at least 11 years old. The site noted that while there's no sex in the movie, the Kens are shown bare-chested and the Barbies get catcalled.
"There are suggestive references to the dolls' bodies — including Ken's 'nude bulge' — and how a male-dominated society expects women to be ornamental and helpful," as per the review on Common Sense Meda.
The site also mentions there are scenes that include alcohol consumption, a few fights, the use of some playful weapons, and chase scenes.
Common Sense Media also praises the film for incorporating diversity, noting that "Barbieland is populated by a diverse group of Barbies and Kens from a range of body sizes, disability, gender, and racial and ethnic backgrounds."