Whoopi Goldberg on Barbie Oscar snub: “Everybody doesn’t win”

Whenever Oscar nominations are announced, there seems to be less celebration of who is on the ballot than there is outcry over who isn’t. This year is certainly no different, with most of the attention over snubs directed towards Barbie’s Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, who both missed out in the directing and acting categories. But if you ask Whoopi Goldberg – an Oscar winner herself – there’s no such thing as a snub, saying, “Everybody doesn’t win.”

Speaking on The View (via Entertainment Weekly), Whoopi Goldberg – who won Best Supporting Actress Oscar for 1990’s Ghost – said of the hooplah, “There are no snubs. That’s what you have to keep in mind: Not everybody gets a prize, and it is subjective. Movies are subjective…The movies you love may not be loved by the people who are voting.”

Whoopi Goldberg also may have been alluding to the musical adaptation of The Color Purple, which was seen as a potential Best Picture nominee but was left off the list of 10. Goldberg herself was nominated for the 1985 version in the Best Actress category. “It’s not the elites, it’s the entire family of the Academy Awards who vote for Best Picture nominations. We all vote for Best Picture, everybody…you don’t get everything you want to get.” Instead, The Color Purple only received one nod: Danielle Brooks for Best Supporting Actress.

Plenty of people were in an uproar that Barbie missed out on those two key nominations, with co-stars (and nominees) America Ferrera and Ryan Gosling giving their take on the so-called snubs. Last year’s Best Actress winner Michelle Yeoh also chimed in, siding with Goldberg by saying, “There’s not enough nominations to go around. The only take is it’s so competitive out there and there’s no guarantee because you’re not the only voter. It’s widespread. Thank god the movie got nominated for Best Picture!” Even still, Gerwig is up for Best Adapted Screenplay and Robbie has a Best Picture nod for producing.

Whoopi Goldberg won her Oscar by beating out the likes of Annette Bening in The Grifters and Lorraine Bracco in Goodfellas after a string of duds. Goldberg also won the Golden Globe for Ghost (the Screen Actors Guild Awards had not yet been established).

Do you think people get too worked up over Oscar “snubs” or is there reason to get upset in some cases? Give us your thoughts on the matter in the comments section below.