Simu Liu insists that his coworkers don’t hate him

Recently, a video was shared online featuring Barbie’s Ryan Gosling and Simu Liu posing for photos at a press event in Canada, but the two awkwardly separated after Liu tried to put his arm around Gosling’s waist and was rebuffed—with Gosling apparently asking him to move and Liu saying something along the lines of, “Oh, it’s too tender? Fair enough.” It’s like Don’t Worry Darling’s “Spitgate,” except the whole thing is pretty easy to see and confirm. Also people actually like Barbie.

But before you try to make some absurd leap and conclude that this is proof that Liu’s co-stars don’t really like him, the man himself posted on his Instagram stories to insist that he and Gosling actually getting along really well. “I’d beach off with this Kenadian again in a heartbeat,” Liu posted, saying Gosling is “the best human in every way, especially when he jokes around with us on the carpet and on set, infecting all of us with his kenergy.” See? Gosling jokes around! He was joking around in that video even though it really, really, didn’t seem like it. Really.

Liu—who will someday appear in a sequel to Shang-Chi, closed his message by asking everyone to “get back to the issues that matter, like supporting strike actors and writers fighting for fair wages.”

And hey, he’s right about that part at least. But also there’s a VanityFair TikTok video going around where Margot Robbie had to say which Barbie cast member is the most like their character in real life, and even though Gosling spent months saying “I’m like Ken in real life! I was born for this!,” she said Simu Liu is the most like his Ken… which is not really a compliment. She’s joking around, of course, just poking fun at the guy, but at the very least it gives off the impression that he’s a bit of a punching bag for the rest of the Barbie team.

Maybe we’re all just jealous that he’s friends with Ryan Gosling? We hear he’s a great Kenadian with impeccable kenergy.