Amy Schumer Left The Barbie Movie For A Pretty Damn Good Reason

Amy Schumer has a new show coming out called "Life & Beth," in which she examines how her character got to where she is in life, relationships, and career. Sometimes we make choices unintentionally, or just let things happen, and regret them later. Schumer, however, made a deliberate choice in passing on playing the lead in the upcoming "Barbie" film. I do not blame her one bit. I'm of the generation before the Barbie empire started to acknowledge the damage it was doing to children's self-esteem with an unachievable body type and ... well, I'm sure I don't have to explain any of this to you. I'm also creeped out by dolls – because they'll murder you in your sleep — so this was never going to be up my alley. I figured I should get that out of the way before I dive in.

Schumer dropped out of "Barbie" because of what were reportedly "scheduling conflicts," but as she recently told The Hollywood Reporter, it was more than that. She said, "They definitely didn't want to do it the way I wanted to do it, the only way I was interested in doing it." She explained that she has written Barbie as an inventor, but that the studio asked her to have Barbie's invention be "a high heel made of Jell-O," and that she'd been sent a pair of Manolo Blahniks to celebrate. Jell-O? I don't ... what?

Schumer said, "The idea that that's just what every woman must want, right there, I should have gone, 'You've got the wrong gal.'" 

If you love high heel shoes and you can walk in them, that's fine. I do not mean what I'm about to say to denigrate any fashion choices/career choices/etc. that anyone makes. I most certainly don't mean to insult anyone who loves Barbie, and I'm very much out of the loop when it comes to her current positive messages, though I've heard some of them. I celebrate you and marvel at your ability to navigate the world while walking on sticks. I lived in NYC too long to understand how you do that with subway grates all over the sidewalk. 

What I'm saying is that I understand what Schumer means. This wasn't her thing. There have been stereotypes about what women love, and one of them is shoes. Many women do love shoes. People of all genders love shoes. We are not a monolith in terms of our likes and dislikes. Shoes are useful and pretty. I just understand that the idea that adding a stereotype that is still prevalent to a story about a doll whose history is problematic might not strike everyone in the best way to do things. 

The movie now stars Margot Robbie, with Greta Gerwig writing and directing, and I have faith in both of these people. Add America Ferrera to that cast, and it's set to be a hit. I'm sure we'll get a fun story and a great time from these women, whether it celebrates Barbie's love of shoes, her job at McDonald's, her work as an astronaut, or any of the other careers and interests she's had over the years. I just understand why that wasn't right for Amy Schumer. It wouldn't be for me either. 

"Life & Beth" will premiere all 10 episodes on Hulu starting on March 18, 2022. No release date is available for "Barbie" right now.