In a new round of what can only be described as entertainment industry news Mad Libs, the original artist behind a design appearing on a bootlegged Doctor Who t-shirt depicting Ncuti Gatwa’s new Doctor has made the design available properly, after it went viral this week being worn by Ryan Gosling on the set of the Barbie movie.
Yes, that’s one sentence, and all of it is somehow true. Gosling went viral earlier this week — beyond set pictures of him as Ken alongside Margot Robbie’s take on the iconic Mattel doll showing the duo in neon-bright skater outfits while shooting Barbie — thanks to a candid shot of the actor wearing a Doctor Who shirt celebrating Gatwa’s recent announcement as the latest incarnation of the Time Lord. Gatwa, who’s set to appear alongside Gosling and Robbie in Barbie, is shown in a mockup of a potential costume for his Doctor, above the current version of the show’s logo. But here’s the thing: he’s wearing what was clearly a quickly made bootleg of the design, because you can still see the original artist Matthew Purchase’s watermark over it:
As worn by Ryan Gosling! Sold by the artist!
I’ve added my Ncuti Gatwa piece to Redubble, with watermark as worn by Ryan. As I don’t own everything in the image approximately 50% of the proceeds I will make will go to The Goboka Rwanda Trust.https://t.co/Yx3nYQlno0 pic.twitter.com/tDjGeYXZIX
— Matthew Purchase (@TheCyberdevil) June 28, 2022
Purchase decided to make the design — complete with watermark for full “Ryan Gosling on the set of Barbie” cosplay accuracy — available for sale on Redbubble, donating 50% of the sales of the shirt to the Goboka Rwanda Trust, a UK-based charity supporting aid relief for Rwandans. Naturally, the BBC wasn’t perhaps too pleased at first about what is a very weird turn of events, pulling Purchase’s shirt from sale. But now that not only has incoming/returning Who showrunner Russell T. Davies and the the show’s official accounts commented about the situation on social media, it looks like things have, for now at least, been re-resolved, as Purchase’s shirt is once again available to buy.
We love this almost as much as Ryan Gosling does! ❤️❤️ https://t.co/785kW721lY
— Doctor Who (@bbcdoctorwho) June 28, 2022
Fingers crossed it stays that way, so Purchase gets to raise money for a good cause, and we continue to get what has to be one of the weirdest bits of viral promo for the arrival of a new Doctor Who star ever. And that’s saying something!
Want more Gizmodo news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel and Star Wars releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.