News | Entertainment
19 Feb 2026 7:42
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Ryan Gosling said "100 per cent no" when asked to sing 'I'm Just Ken' at the 2024 Oscars

    The 43-year-old actor, who played Ken in director Greta Gerwig's 'Barbie' movie, said he feared there was too much that could "wrong" with the performance when he was approached by the producers of this year's Academy Awards with the idea he should perform it on stage


    He said on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon': "(It was) 100 per cent no.

    "There's a lot of ways that could go wrong."

    When host Jimmy, 49, read positive reviews about Ryan's performance, he referenced the talk show host's house band when he jokingly replied: "Imagine the reviews I would have had if I'd have had The Roots."

    Ryan's 'I'm Just Ken' performance saw him dancing in a pink suit and black cowboy hat while joined onstage by the song's writer and producer Mark Ronson as well as his fellow movie 'Kens' - Simu Liu, Scott Evans, Ncuti Gatwa and Kingsley Ben-Adir.

    Ryan was also joined by Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash and Wolfgang Van Halen, and at one point the actor handed his mic to audience members Margot Robbie - who played 'Barbie' in Greta's blockbuster - as well as Emma Stone, America Ferrera and Greta.

    Ryan - who has daughters Esmeralda Amada, nine, and Amada Lee, seven, with his long-time partner Eva Mendes, 50 - said his kids' reaction to his Oscars performance was: "Dad's Kenning again."

    He added about how his girls inspired him to take the Ken role: "I mean it was their interest in Barbie and their disinterest in Ken that sort of started all of this.

    "It's really been a team effort. They were on the film and they came to set when I filmed the number but it's also been like a lot of this has no context for them.

    "You know it's just like a lot of fake tan stains around the house, bleached hair.

    "So I wanted to them to come to the dress rehearsal just to give it some kind of context for what had been going on."

    Ken also said his Oscars performance was his girls' first experience of live music, adding: "They knew all the choreography better than I do. And the songs, oh my God, they're backstage kind of like showing me (jazz hands), you know."

    © 2026 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     19 Feb: Peter Andre was scared of turning 50 because he worried it meant he was "getting old"
     19 Feb: Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter Apple Martin battled low self-esteem due to acne breakouts
     19 Feb: Kim Kardashian is reportedly helping her 12-year-old daughter North West prepare to launch her own business empire
     18 Feb: Kerry Katona is thinking of moving to Dubai
     18 Feb: Barack Obama believes in aliens but did not discover any evidence of their existence during his time in the White House
     18 Feb: Nancy Cartwright doesn't think AI has enough "heart" to replace her on The Simpsons
     18 Feb: Rupert Grint found life as a new dad "isolating" and "traumatising"
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Leicester Fainga'anuku's been benched for Sunday's Super Rugby clash between the Crusaders and Brumbies in Christchurch More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    The Reserve Bank says we may be seeing a fundamental change in the way our economy operates More...



     Today's News

    Health & Safety:
    New workplace testing results reveal cocaine detections have sharply risen across the country 7:37

    Entertainment:
    Peter Andre was scared of turning 50 because he worried it meant he was "getting old" 7:27

    Business:
    The Reserve Bank says we may be seeing a fundamental change in the way our economy operates 7:27

    General:
    Danielle Scott wins silver medal in women's aerials event at 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics 7:27

    Law and Order:
    Questions around why action wasn't taken sooner - following a fatal dog attack in Northland 7:17

    Law and Order:
    Police say they're working at speed to find those involved in an altercation that's left a person in critical condition, and three others injured in Christchurch's Northcote  7:07

    Technology:
    Ukraine reclaims more than 200km of territory as Elon Musk blocks Russian army's internet access 7:07

    Entertainment:
    Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter Apple Martin battled low self-esteem due to acne breakouts 6:57

    Entertainment:
    Kim Kardashian is reportedly helping her 12-year-old daughter North West prepare to launch her own business empire 6:27

    Law and Order:
    A Christchurch Catholic boys' school says it's committed to addressing concerns about historic sexual abuse by former staff appropriately 6:27


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2026 New Zealand City Ltd