America Ferrera talked about her reaction to being an Oscar nominee and “disappointment” in the Academy snubs of her “Barbie” costar and director on the phone with the “TODAY” show Wednesday.
Ferrera had sent her kids off to school with her husband Tuesday morning, when the Academy Awards nominations were being announced. She was home alone, lying in bed, when the hosts named her a nominee for best actress in a supporting role.
“When it happened, I gasped, and I was silent. And I had no one around me to confirm that what I was hearing was real,” Ferrera told the “TODAY” show in a phone interview. “So there was a moment of like, What’s happening? Am I imaging this? And then my phone started blowing up, so then I knew it was real.”
Ferrera received her first congratulatory text message “literally half a second” after her name was announced. It was from actor and Oscar winner Ariana Debose. The message was “so sweet and moving,” according to Ferrera.
Phone calls shouting with excitement at the news came next from her husband and publicist.
“We all had to like merge together and have a big shout fest, which is all you can really do when you get nominated for an Oscar the first time,” Ferrera said.
The actress also weighted in on Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig getting snubbed for this year’s Academy Awards, calling the lack of acknowledgement a “disappointment.”
“It’s just so undeniable what they created, how unprecedented, how unexpected,” Ferrera said. “It was such a brilliant, beautiful world-building, unexpected achievement that happened to also be a global, cultural and box office phenomenon. I think most people feel like that’s deserving.”
Ryan Gosling, who got nominated for best supporting actor, also expressed his disappointment in the two women getting snubbed in the nominations. There is simply “no Ken without Barbie, and there is no Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie.”
“No recognition would be possible for anyone on the film without their talent, grit and genius,” Gosling wrote in a statement. “To say that I’m disappointed that they are not nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement.”
“Barbie” is nominated in eight categories at the Oscars this year, including best picture, adapted screenplay, costume design, original song and production design.
The summer blockbuster brought in more than $1 billion at the box officeas people of all ages flocked to theaters in pink outfits.
