Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro hated “Barbie” so much that he voiced his complaints in a 43-minute video review, which included an edit of himself setting Barbie dolls on fire in protest. But the internet has been criticizing Shapiro instead.
Shapiro announced on the day of the film’s release that he had seen it and would post a scathing review soon.
“My producers dragged me to see ‘Barbie’ and it was one of the most shocking movies I’ve ever seen,” Shapiro tweeted Friday. «My full review of this flaming pile of trash of a movie will be available on my YouTube channel tomorrow at 10am ET.»
The photo immediately sparked ridicule online, where users were quick to point out that he appeared in the film dressed in what appears to be an identical outfit worn by Ryan Gosling as Ken in a musical performance.
In his video, titled «Ben Shapiro DESTROYS Barbie Movie in 43 Minutes,» Shapiro opens his review by showing his thoughts on «Barbie» in a «more Oppenheimer style»: throwing a pair of Barbie and Ken dolls into a trash can and setting them on fire with a match.
Before diving into the bulk of his critiques, he waves around a notepad filled with what he claims to be «pages and pages of notes» about the movie.
«Well folks, wasting two hours of my precious time, two hours I’ll never get back, two hours on my deathbed that I wish I hadn’t spent that time doing,» he says. «It makes me viscerally angry.»
Shapiro, having set the film’s target audience as «7-year-old girls,» takes issue with several moments he considers too mature for young boys, including a reference to a landmark Supreme Court case, a scene that includes sexual innuendos, and the existential contemplation of Barbie’s death.
He also expresses his disgust that the film includes a transgender Barbie and questions her claim that the real world exists under the patriarchy.
“I mean, Greta Gerwig is a lady. She is making a good living out of this,” she says in the video, referring to the film’s director. “Margot Robbie is the protagonist. In fact, the entire cast, except for basically Ryan Gosling, are women, so it seems like the women are doing just fine.»
Shapiro did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Many online mocked the intensity of his apparent anger, noting that he went as far as buying movie tickets and obtaining Barbie dolls to burn before recording himself protesting for more than a third of «Barbie’s» runtime.
«Watching the Barbie movie in theaters and shaking my head all the time to let everyone know I don’t agree with it.» a user tweeted.
“Ben Shapiro is 40 years old” other postedby attaching a screenshot of the thumbnail image of your video.
Others satirically expressed doubts about Shapiro’s self-proclaimed dislike of the film.
«You know what? I don’t believe you Ben. I don’t think you didn’t like this movie,» one person said. said in a TikTok video. “I want everyone to look at this outfit here for a second. …Ben, you literally wore a Ken cosplay for the movie.”
YouTuber Connor Franta was also among those who expressed skepticism about whether Shapiro’s producers actually «dragged» him to see «Barbie,» jokingly implying that there’s a chance Shapiro secretly wanted to see it.
«Just like my sister ‘forced’ me to watch America’s Next Top Model when I was younger,» Franta tweeted.
“I was at the theater with Ben Shapiro and I can confirm that he loved it”, another user joked, accumulating more than 185,000 likes. He «was blushing and laughing and tapping his toes the whole time.»