A #NoBarbenheimer hashtag trended online, re-posted more than 100,000 times by one measure, prompting Warner’s Japan division to issue a rare public criticism of its parent company, which then followed with an apology this week.
Mitsuki Takahata, who voices Barbie in the dubbed Japanese version, posted on Instagram on Wednesday that she was dismayed upon learning of the memes marketing campaign and considered dropping out of a promotional event in Tokyo hyping its opening on August 11.
“This incident is really, really disappointing,” she posted.
02:26
‘Oppenheimer’ sparks debate in Japan ahead of 78-year anniversary of Hiroshima atomic bombing
The same day, the media-savvy US ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel posted a picture of his meeting with director Greta Gerwig, but the response online was chilly.
“Your post at this time will get on the nerves of many Japanese, and will further solidify their resolve to never go to see that movie,” replied a poster known as tsuredzure on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter.
A spokesperson for the embassy said Emanuel took his wife, daughter and her friends to see Barbie and that he embraces the film’s message about women’s empowerment.
US ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel (right) interacts with “Barbie” director Greta Gerwig (left). Photo: X/USAmbJapan
No Japan release date has been announced for Oppenheimer, which chronicles the creation of the atomic bomb.
The film has been criticised for largely ignoring the weapon’s destruction in Japan towards the end of World War II, obliterating two major cities and accounting for more than 200,000 deaths.