Ken’s guitar of choice in the Barbie Movie is… a Gibson Jerry Cantrell acoustic?

Ryan Gosling holding up a Jerry Cantrell Fire Devil Songwriter acoustic guitar
(Image credit: Barbie Movie/Twitter / Gibson)

If there was one name we weren’t expecting to feature quite so heavily in our headlines this year, it’s Barbie. Just last week, we pondered whether the upcoming Barbie Movie soundtrack, which features Slash and Wolfgang Van Halen, was set to be this year’s must-hear guitar collaboration. And now we have another surprise entry-point into Greta Gerwig’s hot-pink fever dream: the unlikely acoustic guitar that features in the movie.

Given the film is out tomorrow (July 21), the reason we know a guitar features at all is down to a new video clip posted to the official Barbie Movie social media accounts. In it, Ken (aka Ryan Gosling) apologizes to BTS star Jimin for stealing his black-and-white tassel outfit, before declaring that, under the Ken code, he will be giving away his most prized possession to the K-pop musician: Ken’s guitar.

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Michael Astley-Brown
Editor-in-Chief, GuitarWorld.com

Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism from Cardiff University, and over a decade's experience writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as 20 years of recording and live experience in original and function bands. During his career, he has interviewed the likes of John Frusciante, Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Matt Bellamy, Kirk Hammett, Jerry Cantrell, Joe Satriani, Tom DeLonge, Ed O'Brien, Polyphia, Tosin Abasi, Yvette Young and many more. In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.