Greta Gerwig is addressing what was widely perceived as one of the biggest snubs of the 2024 Oscars nominations.

The filmmaker earned a nomination for best adapted screenplay for Barbie along with her writing partner and partner in life, Noah Baumbach, but many fans were upset when she was excluded from the Best Director category.

“A friend’s mom said to me, ‘I can’t believe you didn’t get nominated,'” she tells TIME in its “Women of the Year” issue. “I said, ‘But I did. I got an Oscar nomination.’ She was like, ‘Oh, that’s wonderful for you!’ I was like, ‘I know!'”

As reported, Ryan Gosling, who played Ken in Barbie, was less reserved about Gerwig’s snub — as well as that of Margot Robbie, who failed to snag a Best Actress nomination herself.

In a statement obtained by ABC News, Gosling said he was “extremely honored” to be recognized in the supporting actor category, but that “there is no Ken without Barbie, and there is no Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two people most responsible for this history-making, globally-celebrated film.”

“To say that I’m disappointed … would be an understatement,” his statement continued in part.

Barbie earned a total of eight Oscar nominations this year, including Best Picture — for which Robbie is nominated as a producer — and Best Supporting Actress for America Ferrera.

Gerwig expressed to TIME her excitement for both her and Robbie garnering Oscar nominations, despite them not being in the categories people expected.

“Of course I wanted it for Margot,” she said. “But I’m just happy we all get to be there together.”

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