Whoopi Goldberg Defends the Oscars and Rejects Margot Robbie & Greta Gerwig’s ‘Snubs’

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Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera were both nominated for Oscar Awards on January 23. Following their nominations, both of the Barbie co-stars released statements and slammed the Oscars for not nominating their director Greta Gerwig and the film’s lead, Margot Robbie. Despite the public outcry, The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg seemingly sided with the Academy and rejected the idea that it was a snub.

The actress spoke about the prestigious award nominations during the January 24 episode of the hit talk show. Whoopi is no stranger to the Oscars as she is one of 19 people in Hollywood to achieve EGOT status, meaning she’s earned an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award. “Here’s the deal: Everybody doesn’t win!” Whoopi quipped before Sunny Hostin chimed in with, “You know about the snubs.”

The Ghost actress rejected the claim that Margot and Greta were snubbed from a nomination. “Well, but they’re not snubs. And that’s what I want to sort of point out,” Whoopi continued. She explained how the voting process happens for members of the Academy. “And it’s not the elites — it’s the entire family of the Academy who vote for Best Picture nominations,” she shared. “We all vote for Best Picture, everybody. So there are seven to 10 nominations that happen, and you don’t get everything that you want to get.”

Barbie was nominated in several categories, including Best Picture. America and Ryan were both nominated in the Actor/Actress in a Supporting Role category. Meanwhile, Greta was excluded from the Best Director category and Margot wasn’t nominated in the category for Best Actress in a Leading Role. The Lady Bird director did receive an Oscar nomination for co-writing the film’s screenplay, and Margot’s name was included alongside others in the Best Picture category.

Whoopi called the Oscar nominations a “subjective” list. “There are no snubs, and that’s what you have to keep in mind: Not everybody gets a prize,” she said. “The movies you love may not be loved by the people who are voting.” The latest comments from the Sister Act star come one day after Ryan and America released statements about their respective nominations. “To say that I’m disappointed that they are not nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement,” the Ryan said of the snubs. The Ugly Betty alum said that she too was “incredibly disappointed.”