For months, the tagline "Barbie is everything" has been used in posters to promote the movie.
"This Barbie has a Nobel Prize in Physics," one poster read, "This Barbie is president," read another. The movie's star Margot Robbie and unashamedly feminist director Greta Gerwig have been firm on their intention that it's a movie designed to empower women.
But when Antoinette Lattouf was handed a gift bag with her Barbie ticket at an advance screening at Event Cinemas in Top Ryde, inside she found a skin-whitening lotion and cleaning wipes.
"We all received a lovely gift with a directive to clean and whiten our skin," Lattouf told The Feed.
Lattouf, who is a broadcaster, author and diversity advocate, posted about the gift bag on social media, sharing that her daughter had received the same one.
"My eight-year-old daughter who was with me was like 'mummy, that's racist.' I was like 'yeah, baby. I'm glad you can read the room because there's someone on a six-figure salary at Events that maybe can't.'"
The screening was part of a 'Chicks at The Flicks' promotion and the gift bag was given to an almost-all female audience which varied in ages, Lattouf said.
"I just thought, interesting messaging and interesting gifts including Chux (wipes), because this film was meant to be empowering and Barbie can be anything, but kind of really not if you're just telling us to clean," she said in a TikTok video.
"Maybe Events or the HR department or marketing department at Events needs this so they can clean up the tone-deaf mess," she said in the video, holding up the wipes.
"You can be anything you want to be but don't forget to wipe the bench," she added.
Reaction on social media echoed similar bewilderment at the collection of items, which also included hand sanitiser and sample perfume.
"Wow, the dolls are from the 1950s and sounds like Events Cinemas are stuck in time...? What poor form," one person read.
A spokesperson for EVT, the large company which owns Event Cinemas, said the screenings are a "light-hearted event" intended to bring women together.
"It is never our intent to offend any of our loyal movie-goers with the contents of the gift bag," the spokesperson told The Feed in a statement.
"We apologise for any upset this might have caused and will use the feedback to improve in the future.”
The spokesperson said the bags included a range of products from different categories and was arranged by a "third-party supplier".
Through the years Mattel's iconic Barbie doll has been followed by criticism that it promotes an unrealistic, thin and white beauty standard.
Over the years, the manufacturer, Mattel, has repeatedly made efforts to make the brand more inclusive, featuring dolls with a disability, people of colour, and even a range promoting "feminist icons".
The movie, which has inspired a massive marketing campaign, is the latest iteration of a Barbie world that is supposed to be more diverse.
Lattouf said the film was more progressive than she anticipated, and the makers didn't ignore its legacy of criticism.
But regardless, she wonders what kind of subliminal messaging remains within the brand.
"My 11-year-old pointed out on the shelves at Kmart and she's like, 'well, mummy all the blonde Barbies have sold out and the ones that are still there are the ones in wheelchairs and with walking sticks and hearing aids and black skin'," she said.
"It's not uncommon for the film's protagonist or star's merchandise to sell out fast. But it does still beg the question: will Barbie with a disability or Barbie with Afro hair forever be relegated to sidekicks?"
