Warner Bros apologises for ‘insensitive’ posts trivialising Oppenheimer atomic bomb blasts

Warner Bros has apologised after the studio’s Japan branch accused its social media posts of trivialising nuclear war in memes about Barbie and Oppenheimer.

The Japanese branch of the studio’s official social media account reacted to the “regrettable” and “inconsiderate” posts, which attempted to join in on the recent craze surrounding the release of both films, whose titles have been merged to create the phrase “Barbenheimer”.

Meme images that Warner Bros replied to included one showing Barbie lead star Margot Robbie with a hairstyle in the shape of a mushroom cloud, a reference to the atomic blast featured in Christopher Nolan’s biographical drama Oppenheimer. The social media account wrote in response: “This Ken is a stylist”.

Meanwhile, another meme shows Oppenheimer lead star Cillian Murphy carrying Robbie through a burning city, with Warner Bros replying: “It’s going to be a summer to be remembered”.

Warner Bros Japan addressed the messages this week, stating on its official Barbie account: “We find it extremely regrettable that the official account of the American headquarters for the movie Barbie reacted to the social media postings of ‘Barbenheimer’ fans.”

It continued: “We take this situation very seriously. We are asking the US headquarters to take appropriate action. We apologise to those who were offended by this series of inconsiderate reactions.”

“Warner Brothers regrets its recent insensitive social media engagement. The studio offers a sincere apology,” Warner Bros US responded.

Deadline reports that the offending tweets are being deleted.

On Twitter, community notes have been added to highlight information about the atomic bomb attacks that occured in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. The suffering and destruction led to the deaths of an estimated 129,000 to 226,000 people.

The Independent has contacted Warner Bros US for comment.

Oppenheimer, which follows the physicist as he creates the atomic bomb, is yet to receive a release date in Japan.

Cillian Murphy in ‘Oppenheimer’

(Universal Pictures)

However, the film is proving to be one of Nolan’s biggest hits, and has more than quadrupled its budget at the box office in less than two weeks, amassing global takings of $405.6m.

Barbie has performed even better, and is set to hit the $1bn mark this week. While the film has been acclaimed by critics and audiences alike, one joke in the Greta Gerwig-directed film, directed at Robbie, is rubbing many viewers of the blockbuster film up the wrong way.

The Independent spoke to Nolan about Oppenheimer, which is based on the director called the new release “the biggest film I’ve ever made”, stating: “It’s not about money, it’s not about budget – the magnitude of the story is what attracted me to it.” Read the full interview here.