Ryan Gosling Performs ‘Just Ken’ at the Oscars With a Cameo By Slash

In one of the most anticipated and surely one of the most exuberant moments of Oscar night, Ryan Gosling took the stage to perform “I’m Just Ken,” the nominated song from “Barbie” by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt.

Wearing a sparkling pink suit and a cowboy hat, Gosling started out in the audience serenading his “Barbie” co-star Margot Robbie, who couldn’t contain her giggles. He then took the stage surrounded by an army of besuited Ken dancers, including fellow movie Kens Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Ncuti Gatwa and Scott Evans. Mark Ronson joined him onstage but Slash of Guns N’ Roses did the true shredding, showing up midway through for a cameo. In a Ken-like demonstration of (minimal) strength he punched through a pink board with his hand, wearing a pink glove.”

At one point, Gosling returned to the crowd leading a singalong that included Robbie, director Greta Gerwig, “Barbie” actress America Ferrera and Emma Stone. (Stone was not in “Barbie,” however, she sang with Gosling in “La La Land.”)

On the red carpet, Ronson promised an “absolutely bananas spectacle” in an interview with E!, and he delivered on that promise, complete with cut outs of Barbie heads and a “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” aesthetic.

“Doing any sort of live TV is nerve-racking, and then to do it in that room? There’s not many rooms that are more intimidating,” Simu Liu told The Times at the Governors Ball following the telecast. “Nerves were running high and there was such a moment of elation when we were done: ‘Yes!’ I think we pulled it off,” he said.

In another life, Gosling might have gone the pop star route. He got his start on “The All New Mickey Mouse Club,” the revival of the classic Disney variety show, which also launched the careers of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake. Before that, Gosling was a child dancer. His early routines, including one in which he wears “Hammer pants,” have received tens of millions of views online.