3 Aug –Warner Bros. US has apologised for the controversy surrounding the Barbenheimer meme that has sparked anger among Japanese cinemagoers. In a statement to the media, the company stated, "Warner Brothers regrets its recent insensitive social media engagement. The studio offers a sincere apology." The short apology came after Japanese netizens and Warner Bros. Japan slammed the US branch, particularly the "Barbie" marketing team for feeding into the recent craze that came about following the release of its Mattel movie, "Barbie" and Universal's "Oppenheimer".
This include the Barbie Movie Twitter page responding positively to memes that combine both Barbie and the real-life character of J. Robert Oppenheimer (portrayed by Cillian Murphy) together in one photo with the backdrop of an atomic bomb blast. Japanese netizens had since slammed these memes, saying that fans were trivialising the 1945 tragedy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the mass destruction caused by the atomic bombs.