Warner Bros. apologises for ‘Barbenheimer' Twitter controversy in Japan

The Warner Bros Film Group in the United States has issued a public apology about social media activity concerning the Barbenheimer meme which has caused outrage in Japan Variety reportedWarner Brothers sincerely apologises for its recent insensitive social media engagementThe studio sincerely apologises the firm wrote in an email to Variety on TuesdayThis comes after public criticism of Warner in Japan the launch of an online petition against the studio and an unexpected step by Warners Japanese distribution armWarner Bros Japan issued a statement on its official Japaneselanguage Barbie Twitter account on Monday criticising the studios US division for participating in the Barbenheimer social media frenzyThe Barbie US Twitter account has interacted with some fan posts regarding Barbenheimer which alludes to the simultaneous summer releases of Universals Oppenheimer and Warner Bros BarbieBoth films were released on July 21 in North America and many overseas regions and quickly became box office smashes During their debuts they helped propel the box office to its fourth highestgrossing weekend in historyOppenheimer has not yet been released in Japan and no release date has been set While the film debates the issue of whether bombings ultimately saved lives and brought world peace the current clash highlights the enduring sensitivity of the nuclear weapons debate in Japan as per VarietyAccording to some estimates the two atomic bombs launched by the United States on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 killed as many as 250000 peopleWe consider it extremely regrettable that the official account of the American headquarters for the movie Barbie reacted to the social media postings of Barbenheimer fans Warner Bros Japan wrote in a statement published on the Barbie Japan Twitter profile We take this situation very seriously We are asking the US headquarters to take appropriate action We apologize to those who were offended by this series of inconsiderate reactions Warner Bros JapanIn response to one Barbenheimer fan art poster depicting Margot Robbies Barbie perched on Cillian Murphys J Robert Oppenheimers shoulders in front of a flaming atomic mushroom cloud the Barbie US Twitter account tweeted Its going to be a summer to remember Twitter now known as X updated the tweet with a community comment explaining the historical background of the mushroom cloud pictureAt 815 am on August 6 1945 Showa 20 Hiroshima for the first time in human history the Twitter note reads The particular nature of the damage caused by the atomic bombs is that mass destruction and mass murder occurred instantaneously and indiscriminatelyldquoAt 815 am on August 6 1945 Showa 20 an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima for the first time in human history The particular nature of the damage caused by the atomic bombs is that mass destruction and mass murder occurred instantaneously and indiscriminatelyrdquo pictwittercom9smEuJ8J3Emdash Boshio55 August 1 2023In Japan the Barbenheimer craze has drawn criticism for trivialising the horrific catastrophe wrought by atomic bombs In recent days the hashtag NoBarbenheimer has been trending across the countryThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever