Rob Thomas Is Just Happy Ryan Gosling’s ‘Barbie’ Movie Cover Of Matchbox Twenty Didn’t Make His Band The Butt Of The Joke

For those who haven’t yet caught the Barbie movie, here is a warning for spoilers. But for those who have, Ryan Gosling’s Ken is OBSESSED with Matchbox Twenty’s “Push” as a running joke in the movie. He eventually extends this love for the song to all of the Ken’s in Ken-dom, as they serenade the Barbies by the campfire in a truly hilarious scene.

Gosling’s rendition of the track is so popular that it has since been released on Spotify. In a recent interview with USA Today, the band’s lead singer, Rob Thomas, is sharing how he feels about the bit.

“I want to preface this by saying that I thought it was hilarious,” Thomas shared. Still, he also brought up a story about how the band became the joke in Bring It On and had thought it would be a similar story.

“When I got the call for Barbie, they told me, ‘Ken’s by the fireside, he’s playing the song and it’s his favorite band,’” he added. “So I did this thinking I’d be the butt of the joke, and I was fine with that. I’m pretty thick-skinned. But [Atlantic Records’] Julie Greenwald came to the Hollywood Bowl a month or two ago. She had just seen the movie and was like, ‘You come out of it loving Ken and loving ‘Push.” And I was like, ‘Aww. All right, really good!’”

Barbie‘s director, Greta Gerwig, has also revealed that she enjoyed the song over the years.

Listen to Gosling’s cover of “Push” above.