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Warner Bros. Apologizes to Japan for Barbenheimer Memes

Whereas “Barbenheimer” — the mix of Barbie and Oppenheimer, which premiered in American theaters on the identical day — turned a viral meme within the West, this giddiness didn’t essentially translate to Japan, the place the actual Oppenheimer’s atomic bomb killed hundreds when America detonated it in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Backlash in opposition to the meme led Barbie distributor Warner Bros. to apologize to Japan in a press release.

In a single tweet, a Japanese fan criticized Barbie’s advertising staff for making mild of Oppenheimer’s actions, likening it to an commercial drawing up the occasions of 9/11 in shades of sizzling pink. As such, Warner Bros. Japan took to Twitter to guarantee viewers mentioned memes weren’t official, and chastised the American Barbie account for enjoying alongside, calling a since-deleted publish “thoughtless” and “extraordinarily regrettable.”

“We take this example severely, and we’re asking the US headquarters to take applicable motion,” the corporate mentioned, translated from Japanese. After posting the apology, the American Barbie tweet referencing Barbenheimer was deleted (per Vice). Take a look at the corporate’s full assertion under.

Barbie is slated to premiere in Japan on August eleventh, two days after the 78th anniversary of America’s assault on Nagasaki. Oppenheimer has no scheduled launch date within the nation.


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