In 2014, Robbie tweeted about only just understanding what #wcw (woman crush Wednesday) stands for and how her ego has subsequently “expanded exponentially” – this reveals how after a year of being branded on her beauty, Robbie, whilst recognising it, is still fairly casual about it herself.

Robbie, who rocketed to fame and was subsequently nominated for an Oscar, defies Turner’s suggestion.

It is evident that talk show hosts like Ellen, and stars like Robbie and Hemsworth, play on Australian stereotypes in order to provoke humour and be entertaining.

Spoofing ‘American Psycho’, the clip establishes Robbie as someone unafraid to laugh at herself, and someone who doesn’t take herself too seriously – the likelihood is that she was not ‘born with a six pack’ and does not use ‘placenta cream’ on her face. Therefore, Robbie is aware of her own beauty, aware of the ways in which she is branded and marketed on it, but encourages us not to take her too seriously, as she clearly doesn’t.

Both Oscar nominees, Robbie and Ronan exemplify talented young women. Their friendship, which seems to extend from their professional relationship (working together on Mary Queen of Scots) is therefore refreshing and again suggests notions of Girl Power – strong women sticking together and celebrating each other.

In the interview, their friendship is apparent and Robbie and Smith state how ‘we know waytoo much about each other’ – this is likely true as (at the time) they have worked together twice on ‘Focus’ and ‘Suicide Squad’ – but could this be a comment on the controversy that surrounded their work on ‘Focus’?

Yet clearly, Robbie cares about her health and fitness as she is in good shape. It is the attention to Robbie’s body that inspires problematic articles such as ones that encourage people to “get shape like Margot Robbie”.

One’s that 1. We can’t determine are legitimate or not

2. are extremely unhealthy to be promoting

The website is giving meal prep advice and exercise advise with no background in nutrition and/or personal training

Encouraging people to eat less to fast and binge eat then starve themselves when they need to – then they might look like Robbie – unhealthy and problematic

For female refugees (both male and female)
For victims of sexual assault: supporting and raising money for the TIME’S UP movement

For girl’s rights to education

To raise money for female gynae cancer

Her film production company is no exception…

 

Adding to the list of Robbie’s potentially controversial roles, the film is another example of how Robbie does not shy away from playing difficult roles retelling the lives of notorious and/or powerful women.

Though, instead of condemning Robbie, the article simply suggests she did not consult Roman Polanski as he wrote a lot of content in his book and she therefore did not need to – the anticlimactic content of the article perhaps solidifies the suggestion that the title was merely clickbait.

This again furthers the controversy surrounding both the film itself and Robbie taking on the role.

For many viewers, Robbie’s appeal likely stemmed from the film’s attention to its sex scenes – positing Robbie as an unapologetically sexual woman.

Discourse around Robbie in the film very rarely doesn’t include discussion of her looks or sex appeal.

This potentially posits Robbie as a sex symbol.

Whilst not as explicitly sexual as her role as Lapaglia, Robbie’s role as Harley Quinn may also posit her as somewhat of a sex symbol through her notorious costume: a tight shirt and tight hot pants.

Even in films she plays a minor role, she is still considered attractive – Robbie’s character, Charlotte, is often the subject of Tim Lake’s gaze.

In the clip, Rory remarks “God she is beautiful. She’s so beautiful if you had sex with her you’d die, you’d die”.

It is evident how the character is sexualised by Rory and is the subject of multiple male gazes. Therefore, Robbie’s own sex appeal and attractiveness are captured through her minor character, Charlotte.

These roles and the discourse surrounding them only serve to highlight Robbie’s own attractiveness.

Firstly, Robbie has to undergo significant ‘transformation’, including prosthetics and hours of makeup, to be considered ugly or less attractive.

Secondly, the idea of Robbie being considered ugly is both noteworthy and shocking. In itself this reiterates her beauty as we are taken-aback at the thought/sight of her looking ‘unattractive’.

So, in this intimate mirror scene with Robbie as Tonya Harding – a scene Robbie declared was ‘improvised in the moment’ after an ‘overwhelming day anyway’– are we witnessing Robbie ‘beneath the surface’ and ‘beyond the image’ of both the character of Tonya Harding and her own public star image?

 

Robbie on her production company and the desire to produce female-driven content: ‘I’m trying so hard to get projects up and running with an ensemble of young female characters, because that’s my life, my group of girls, we’re a gang and we roll together’ – Note: a distinct personal discourse ‘my girls’, ‘gang’ and ‘roll together’ – Robbie aligns herself with other women.

Yet, Robbie seems to change between the two – continuing to take on more ‘sexy’ roles, like Harley Quinn, whilst still existing as the ‘classy’ brand ambassador of Chanel.

Shows even more dedication than just posting a picture - drawing on her own interests makes it personal.

Robbie is promoting Chanel to her 15.3 million followers – encouraging us to invest in the products whilst establishing her own class and elegance due to her involvement in the prestigious brand.

This is good publicity for both Robbie and Chanel – for Robbie, she is being promoted by a luxury fashion brand, which only serves to cement her elegant star image.

For Chanel, Robbie is a popular celebrity who draws in attention from people who are influenced by her – she is additionally a star perceived as classy and beautiful – traits associated with Chanel

Their partnership is beneficial for both parties and solidifies the elegance of both Robbie and Chanel.

Lounging in the pool in the sun wearing Chanel sunglasses – her casual holiday is desirable and therefore marketable.

The scandal happened during the early stages of her career – around the same time she ‘took off’ with Wolf of Wall Street – perhaps gossip magazines found it easy to target her as someone who would have an affair due to her new-found attention as an openly sexual figure.

The scandal also drew additional attention to Robbie at the beginning of her career – this meant her name was broadcast across multiple magazines, next to A-lister Will Smith – but could have been potentially damaging to her image. Luckily the scandal fizzled out quickly and did not do any major damage to her image.

This may be why Robbie now keeps her personal life out of the public eye.

Articles like this feed and thrive off gossip and false accusations – stating that Robbie’s ‘chemistry with her leading men is so scorchingly obvious that at times it has sparked paranoia and distrust among even the movie world’s most solid couples.’ – no doubt a nod towards the Will Smith controversy (3 years prior to this article).

The article’s comparison of Robbie to Angelina Jolie is another example of the articles casual sexism as they deem Robbie ‘the biggest threat to A-list marriages since Angie bagged the then-married Brad Pitt 12 years ago’. 

 

The article exemplifies how tabloids like these circulate false stories which have the potential of ‘destroying the marketability of stars’ (McDonald, 2003: 30).
Because of rumours that circulated years ago, tabloids like these are able to cling on to them in order to stir more controversy.