From start to finish, Ryan Gosling's "I'm Just Ken" performance was one to remember.
At the 2024 Academy Awards show, Ryan Gosling managed a pretty incredible feat—winning the entire Oscars without taking home a single award with his performance of "I'm Just Ken."
Throughout the show, the songs that were nominated for Best Original Song were performed, with two songs from "Barbie" bookending the night. Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas performed first, making everyone cry with the hauntingly gorgeous "What Was I Made For." But it was Gosling's "I'm Just Ken" spectacle that had everyone laughing, singing along and wondering how on Earth we got to this iconic cultural moment.
Let's face it—the entire idea of Ryan Gosling playing a classic Ken doll in a movie about Barbie sounded pretty goofy from the start. And yet the combined genius of the movie's creators and Gosling's abject refusal to phone in anything not only made it work, but earned the actor widespread praise and a nomination from the Academy for Best Supporting Actor. Throw in some cheesy-on-purpose songwriting and an over-the-top embrace of its own absurdity, and we get one of the greatest Oscar moments ever.
First of all, if you missed it (or just want to witness it again), here's Gosling's performance in all its sparkling pink glory:
Naturally, the standing ovation performance got people asking questions about "the man behind the tan," and we've got answers:
Q: Who was the woman Ryan Gosling was sitting with, the one he put the cowboy hat on?
Gosling is married to actor Eva Mendes, but that woman sitting next to him definitely wasn't her. It was actually Gosling's sister, Mandi Gosling. Gosling and Mendes keep their relationship much more private than most celebrities and rarely make appearances together, even at major events like the Academy Awards. Gosling often brings his sister, with whom he has a close relationship, to accompany him on the red carpet.
(Mendes was there to support Gosling, however. She posted an Instagram standing outside his dressing room with the caption, "Always by my man." But she wasn't dressed in a designer gown and didn't sit on the main floor with the other Hollywood stars. For some, their arrangement might seem strange, but it seems to work for them.)
Q: What's the necklace that Gosling kissed during a camera close-up?
A: All signs point to the necklace he kissed being an "E" for his wife, Eva. (See? all good.) He wore a necklace that looked like the Barbie "B" but with an "E" instead at the "Barbie" movie premiere. A sweet little shout-out to his wife of 13 years and their two kids during the performance.
Q: Why did the staging of "I'm Just Ken" look familiar?
A: The pink sparkly suit, pink gloves and tuxedoed backup dancers wasn't just a "Barbie" thing. The whole performance was an homage to Marilyn Monroe's performance of "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." We could talk about the metaness of this staging choice for days, but suffice it to say it worked.
Q: Was Ryan Gosling really singing or did he lip sync?
A: Oh, that was all him. You can tell by the minor imperfections here and there, which simply made it real and didn't take away from the impressiveness of it all. Gosling's easy charm, charisma and comfort on stage are really something to witness, and frankly he put on a better performance than a lot of actual singers do when they perform live.
Q: Has Ryan Gosling always been this engaging as a stage performer?
A: Well, yeah, pretty much. The Canadian actor got his start young, being recruited by Disney as a Mouseketeer all the way back in 1993. Enjoy this little historical tidbit of adorable little Ryan Gosling from the CBC:
Some people are born with the gift to entertain, and that certainly seems to be the case with Ryan Gosling. Not to take anything away from his hard work, of course, but it's the dedication to craft combined with that all-elusive X factor that makes a genuine superstar, and Gosling just keep on proving that he's got it all.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."