After “Barbie’s” release last month, conservative commentator and Daily Wire editor Ben Shapiro famously complained about the film’s wokeness for over 40 minutes on YouTube. He even threw a Barbie doll into a fire to “prove” his point. Since then, other conservatives have agreed with Shapiro, although most of their reviews didn’t include a trash can fire.
Now, though, conservatives aren’t the only prominent media personalities to disapprove of the film. Liberal HBO talk show host Bill Maher tweeted a four-paragraph review of his own on Monday.
OK, "Barbie": I was hoping it wouldn't be preachy, man-hating, and a #ZombieLie - alas, it was all three. What is a Zombie Lie? Something that never was true, but certain people refuse to stop saying it (tax cuts for the rich increase revenues, e.g.); OR something that USED to be…
— Bill Maher (@billmaher) August 7, 2023
He began by acknowledging how much he wanted the film to be free of politics.
“I was hoping it wouldn’t be preachy, man-hating, and a #ZombieLie–alas, it was all three,” he said. “What is a Zombie Lie? Something that never was true, but certain people refuse to stop saying it (tax cuts for the rich increase revenues, e.g.); OR something that USED to be true but no longer is, but certain people pretend it’s still true.”
Related: Photos Reveal Disney's Woke Plans For 'Snow White' and the Seven Not-Really-Dwarves
Maher then discussed how “Barbie’s” victimization-oriented attitude did not accurately reflect reality, using the film’s portrayal of the Mattel board as an example.
“Spoiler alert, Barbie fights the Patriarchy,” Maher wrote. “Right up to the Mattel board who created her, consisting of 12 white men! The Patriarchy! Except there’s a Mattel board in real life, and it’s 7 men and 5 women.”
“Of course, none of us can know exactly what others go through [in] life, but I can see the world around me, and I can read data,” he continued. “The real Mattel board is a pretty close mirror of the country, where 45% of the 449 board seats filled last year in Fortune 500 companies were women.”
Instead of completely despairing at the film’s woke perspective, however, Maher ended his review with a tone of hope, a call to live in truth.
“Barbie is fun, I enjoyed it–but it IS a #ZombieLie. And people who don’t go along with zombie lies did not take some red pill–just staying true to CURRENT reality. Let’s live in the year we’re living in! Hi Ken!!!”
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Anhueser-Busch heir makes shocking statement
— MRCTV (@mrctv) August 8, 2023
“My ancestors would have rolled over in their graves,” Busch said. "They loved this country and what it stood for." https://t.co/GJtic7kzn1 pic.twitter.com/65TkZog93h