Here's the Gay Origin Story of Michael Cera's 'Barbie' Character
In a world of Barbies and Kens, some people are Allans.
When the character posters were released for Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie, we were all delighted to see which of our favorite actors were playing Barbies and Kens in the movie, and we also found out that some of the cast are playing other characters, including Michael Cera in the role of Allan.
But exactly who is Allan?
Well, according to his original packaging, he’s Ken’s “buddy.” You know, the kind of buddy you hang out with shirtless. The kind of buddy you share all your clothes with. That kind of “buddy.”
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Back in 2020, a tweet from @byelacy went viral when they pointed out that Allan was labeled as Ken’s “buddy” with a trademark sign after it, as though “buddy” had some different meaning. Then, things got more interesting when she zoomed in and noticed that underneath the illustration of a shirtless Ken and Allan wearing an open rainbow-striped button-up, Allan’s box says that “all of Ken’s clothes fit him!”
You know, just some classic heterosexual buddy stuff!
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While the character posters for Ryan Gosling, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, and Scott Evans kept saying things like “He’s just Ken,” “He’s Ken too,” “He’s another Ken,” “Ken again,” and “You guessed it, he’s a Ken,” Cera’s poster reads “There’s only one Allan.”
And he can never, ever be replaced! Allan will always have a special place in Barbie fans' — and Ken's — hearts.
Barbie is now playing in theaters.
Barbie | Main Trailer
