Just when the Barbie pandemonium couldn’t get any better, the film’s star Ryan Gosling delighted fans by sending a heartfelt message to one of his biggest admirers, BTS group member Park “Jimin” Ji-min.
The live-action Barbie, set to debut in theaters this week, follows Barbie (Margot Robbie) and Gosling’s character Ken as they uncover the true meaning of life and happiness after the famous figurine is thrown out of Barbie Land for being imperfect.
On July 19, in a promotional teaser shared on the movie’s official social media pages, Gosling started things off by addressing the elephant in the room, the fact that he and Ji-min rocked the same black cowboy outfit on two separate occasions. Ji-Min — who wore the attire first — sported the cowboy getup in BTS’ “Permission To Dance” music video, while Gosling donned the outfit on the set of Barbie. The 42-year-old said while complimenting Ji-min’s style,
Hi Jimin, it’s Ryan Gosling here. I noticed that your “Permission To Dance” outfit was the same as my Ken outfit in the upcoming movie Barbie. I have to give it to you, you wore it first. You definitely wore it best.”
Further into the video, Gosling added that because there’s “an unspoken Ken code” when copying someone else’s style, he humbly offers Ji-min a present as a peace offering, a one-of-a-kind Ken guitar.
“There’s an unspoken Ken code that if you bite another Ken’s style you have to give them your most prized possession. So I hope you’ll except Ken’s guitar as my humble offering. Besides Ken doesn’t really play anyway, so it’ll be much better in your hands.”
As the video circulated online, many Twitter user couldn’t contain their excitement for various reasons.
One individual claimed that they considered Gosling’s gesture to Ji-min the “ultimate crossover.”
At the same time, another social media user revealed they weren’t expecting the surprise.
A third Twitter user stated they were happy to see Gosling’s video and awaited Ji-min’s response.
Lastly, another person called a search party for Ji-min’s whereabouts to see his reaction to Gosling’s video.
Although Ji-min has yet to respond to Gosling’s video, however, in the past, the “Dynamite” singer did reveal why he enjoyed watching The Notebook, which starred the actor and Rachel McAdams.
In a 2019 interview, Ji-min disclosed that he liked the film so much because of the touching love story between Gosling and McAdams characters. He said,
“I really like it so I think I have watched it around 5 times. It’s just so touching. I don’t know. The atmosphere is so good and I think all the emotional lines and small details are shown are beautiful. I want to have that kind of beautiful love with ARMYs.”
The live-action Barbie is set to premiere in theaters on July 21.
