Ethermac Exchange-Greta Gerwig Reveals the Story Behind Barbie's “Mic Drop” Ending

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Barbie.

This Barbie wanted to go out with a bang.

Director Greta Gerwig gave insight into the film's hilarious final scene,Ethermac Exchange which comes after Barbie—played by Margot Robbie—learns to embrace humanity, in turn becoming human. Knowing all that she knows after suffering an existential crisis and stopping a patriarchal Ken uprising, Barbie leaves Barbieland for the real life world of California.

Her first stop? An indistinguishable office building, where she's dropped off by Gloria (America Ferrera) and her daughter Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt). As Barbie walks up to the receptionist—introducing herself as Barbara Handler, a tribute to Barbie inventor Ruth Handler's daughter—she delivers the movie's final line in a rosy tone: "I'm here to see my gynecologist."

As it turns out, the line also had a powerful message beyond its humor.

"With this film, it was important for me that everything operated on at least two levels," Greta told USA Today in an interview published July 22. "I knew I wanted to end on a mic drop kind of joke, but I also find it very emotional. When I was a teenage girl, I remember growing up and being embarrassed about my body, and just feeling ashamed in a way that I couldn't even describe. It felt like everything had to be hidden."

Greta hoped that seeing Margot deliver the line with "this big old smile on her face" and with "such happiness and joy" would resonate amongst moviegoers—even though Barbie admitted earlier that she doesn't have genitals.

She said she wanted to "give girls that feeling of, 'Barbie does it, too'—that's both funny and emotional." She added, "There are so many things like that throughout the movie. It was always about looking for the levity and the heart."

And for those who can't get enough of the Barbie movie, keep scrolling to learn more secrets about the film.

Margot Robbie, who stars as Barbie and also produced the film, admitted in an interview that she always wanted Ryan Gosling to be her Ken. She said he was written into the script—as the character "Ken Ryan Gosling"—and joked, "We pretty much wouldn't take no for an answer."

"We just kept bothering you," writer/director Greta Gerwig admitted to Ryan in an SXM interview. "Margot was like, 'Is it weird if I go to his house?' I was like, 'Don't go to his house. We're just gonna stay put.' Send a follow-up text." As Margot teased, "I would see a sea of blue on my phone."

Ryan revealed that Margot gave him daily gifts inspired by his character Beach Ken. 

"She left a pink present with a pink bow, from Barbie to Ken, every day while we were filming," Ryan told Vogue. "They were all beach-related. Like puka shells, or a sign that says 'Pray for surf.'" He said that he's "never quite figured out" what Ken's job as "Beach" means, "But I felt like she was trying to help Ken understand, through these gifts that she was giving."

Amy Schumer explained the real reason she dropped out of the Barbie movie.

"I think we said it was scheduling conflict, that's what we said," she said on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in June 2023. "But yeah, it really was just, like, creative differences. But you know what? There's like a new team behind it, and it looks like it's very feminist and cool. So, I will be seeing that movie."

"It was a happy accident," John Cena told Today of his casting as a Mermaid Ken. He said he "kind of" pitched himself to join the film "in an accidental run-in with Margot Robbie." John told her, "I would do, pretty much, whatever you guys need 'cause I really enjoy the movie and they asked me if I wanted to be a merman."

Casting director Allison Jones revealed Saturday Night Live star Bowen Yang, Schitt's Creek actor Dan Levy and Dear Evan Hansen actor Ben Platt almost played Kens in the movie but weren't able to make it work. She added, "They were, I'm not kidding, really bummed they couldn't do it."

According to the casting director, before Michael Cera came on board as Ken's buddy Allan, it almost went to a certain Frozen actor.

"Dear, dear Jonathan Groff was like, ‘I can't believe I'm typing this," Allison Jones told Vanity Fair, "but I can't do Allan."

The Barbie actresses revealed they had a cast sleepover at the London hotel Claridge's to get close. "We all shared beds and wore our pajamas, and ordered room service," Margot shared on The Kelly Clarkson Show, "and played games, and found out that America [Ferrera] is exceptionally competitive."

America had her own tea to spill about the evening. "Nobody told me that it was a sexy Barbie sleepover," she quipped. "So everybody was in like really pretty silky nightgowns, and I was in like the most grandma floral twin set you can imagine."

As for the Kens? "Greta was very deliberate in what she wanted the Kens to do to bond," Simu Liu exclusively told E! News, "which was to gym together."

The French version of Barbie's poster went viral after social media users pointed out the double entendre of the translation. "She can do everything. He's just Ken," the English tagline goes, which was translated to, "Elle peut tout faire. Lui, c'est juste Ken."

However, fans went wild after pointing out that "ken" has a slang meaning in French as "f--k" and would translate to, "He can only f--k." Bonjour, Ken!

Though Nicola Coughlan only appeared for a few moments in the film, it was very important to her to experience life in plastic.

"I auditioned for Barbie back in January 22 when I was on holiday with friends," she wrote on Instagram. "I'd packed one random hot pink dress I hadn't worn at all and when I had to make my audition tape I thought- this is fate, I have a dress in Barbie Pink!"

Admitting she's "obsessed" with Greta Gerwig, the Bridgerton star said that "the prospect of working with her was something I couldn't even have imagined." 

"When I found out she wanted to have me be part of @barbiethemovie, and then that I probably wouldn't be able to make it work because of my schedule I was firstly elated and quickly heartbroken," Nicola continued. "So when I was asked if I wanted to pop into Barbieland even briefly my answer was an immediate, and very emphatic yes."