\n Issa Rae<\/span> Stewart Cook\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
This Barbie is a body-positive queen<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 and her name is Issa Rae<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cRight before [the role came to me], I was post-Insecure<\/i><\/a>, post\u2013Rap Sh!t<\/i>, and post-the-final-season-of-Insecure<\/i>-press-tour. I was like, \u2018Well, I\u2019m going to let myself go. I\u2019m eating\u00a0everything,<\/i>\u2019\u201d Rae, 38, told\u00a0Glamour<\/a>\u00a0<\/i>in an interview published on Friday, July 21. \u201cAnd then I got the call to do\u00a0Barbie<\/i><\/a>\u00a0and was like, \u2018Oh, no, I am not Barbie-shape ready.\u2019 But then I realized Greta [Gerwig]<\/strong><\/a>\u2018s\u00a0Barbie<\/i>\u00a0world consists of all body types. So, while I was still on my fitness journey, I felt less insecure about my Barbie body<\/a> or lack thereof.\u201d<\/p>\n The\u00a0Insecure\u00a0<\/i>alum<\/a> plays President Barbie in the highly anticipated flick, which hit theaters on Friday<\/a>. The movie \u2014 costarring Margot Robbie<\/strong><\/a> and Ryan Gosling<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 brings Mattel\u2019s beloved doll line to life as Robbie\u2019s Barbie and Gosling\u2019s Ken journey from the pink-accented Barbie Land into the real world<\/a>. The OG toys were primarily known for<\/a> their slim physiques and perfectly coiffed blonde locks, images that initially worried Rae.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was something that I was concerned about too \u2014 who are the other Barbies, and what do they look like?\u201d she confessed to\u00a0Glamour<\/i>, noting director Gerwig, 39, prioritized casting a diverse crop of actors<\/a>. \u201cI saw that immediately on my first day when I was doing the dance sequence rehearsal. There were so many different types of Barbies, and so many different types of Kens. Some able-bodied, ages, genders. Greta did her best to try to include everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n Rae continued: \u201cBarbie Land is perfect. Everyone in Barbie Land is a perfect Barbie. I found that so beautiful. Almost everyone in the world is represented in some way here. That\u2019s not an easy piece. I\u2019m sure someone might be like, \u2018Where am I?\u2019 But know that there was such an effort made to have Barbie Land be inclusive.\u201d<\/p>\n Barbie\u00a0<\/i>features a star-studded lineup of actors, including Nicola Coughlan<\/strong><\/a>, Ritu Arya<\/strong>, Sharon Rooney<\/strong>, Hari Nef<\/strong>, Kate McKinnon<\/strong><\/a>, Dua Lipa<\/strong><\/a>, Simu Liu<\/strong><\/a>, Kingsley Ben-Adir<\/strong> and Ncuti Gatwa<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Liu, 34, has similarly praised the film\u2019s commitment to inclusivity and diversity, proving that every type of individual<\/a> can be a Barbie or a Ken.<\/p>\n \u201cGreta was very, very conscientious about who she cast,\u201d the Marvel star gushed to\u00a0Vanity Fair<\/a>\u00a0<\/i>in January. \u201cWe were able to cast people of different shapes, sizes, differently abled, to all participate in this dance [scene] \u2014 all under this message of, \u2018You don\u2019t have to be blonde, white, or X, Y, Z in order to embody what it means to be a Barbie or a Ken.\u2019 I felt like I was going to work every day with a cast that really celebrated each other<\/a> and celebrated each other\u2019s differences, no matter where we came from. I think when you watch the movie, you\u2019ll see that reflected on the screen.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Issa](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Issa-Rae-Initially-Didnt-Think-Her-Body-Was-Ready-for-Barbie-Inside-Her-Self-Love-Journey-Inline.jpg?w=700&quality=86&strip=all\")
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\n Issa Rae in \u2018Barbie.\u2019<\/span> Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n