Joe Rogan is defending Barbie against critics who claim the film promotes an “anti-men” message.
While chatting with Post Malone during a recent episode of his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, the podcast host revealed he is “appalled” by the backlash Barbie: The Movie has received from some viewers.
“A lot of people are upset about the Barbie movie, and I left [the theater] perplexed,” Rogan admitted.
“At the end of it, I was like, ‘How did people get outraged at that?’ I know some people personally who said it’s anti-men. I’m like, ‘No, it’s making fun of dorks,'” he explained.
Rogan questioned the people who are upset with the film, saying, “Are we [going to] do this thing where we put all men as men? It’s one category? We’re not going to judge people as individuals? Like, I don’t understand why people think that represents all men.”
Rogan also praised both Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling‘s performances in the film. They play Barbie and Ken, respectively.
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Rogan’s comments come after comedian Bill Maher criticized the film as “man-hating.”
“OK, Barbie: I was hoping it wouldn’t be preachy, man-hating, and a #ZombieLie — alas, it was all three,” Maher tweeted.
“What is a Zombie Lie? Something that never was true, but certain people refuse to stop saying it … OR something that used to be true but no longer is, but certain people pretend it’s still true. Barbie is this kind of #ZombieLie,” he continued.
Elsewhere in his Twitter tirade, Maher complained that the film does not accurately portray the corporate structure at the real-life Matte company.
“Of course, none of us can know exactly what others go through life, but I can see the world around me, and I can read data. 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. Truth is, I’m not the one who’s out of step — I’m living in the year we’re living in. Barbie is fun, I enjoyed it — but it IS a Zombie Lie,” Maher wrote.