Why Some Fans Are Turning On 'Fake' Ryan Reynolds & Blake Lively
They're one of the most popular celebrity couples out there, but some fans have had enough — especially amid the drama surrounding "It Ends With Us."
Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively have been one of Hollywood's "it" couples for years now, partly because of how normal they seem despite their impossibly glamorous life. At this point, the pair's self-deprecating jokes and constant Instagram pranks have become something of a pop culture institution.
But their shtick has begun to wear a bit thin for some fans, who have felt for a while now like the whole thing is nothing more than an act — one that has long since worn out its welcome.
And with the controversy now swirling around Lively's new film "It Ends With Us" and her handling of its central issue of domestic violence, the erosion of the goodwill toward Hollywood's zaniest couple seems to be escalating.
Blake Lively's comments about 'It Ends With Us' have renewed long-brewing frustrations with her and Ryan Reynolds.
Based on the Colleen Hoover book of the same name, "It Ends With Us" centers on a relationship between characters played by Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, who also directed, that devolves into a harrowing situation of domestic violence and assault.
The film opened on August 9, 2024, to mixed reviews but unexpectedly strong box office — likely, in part, due to the rumors of behind-the-scenes drama that have swirled around the film in recent weeks (we'll get to those in a minute). But now, it's not just rumors causing controversy. Lively's comments while promoting the film recently have left many uncomfortable, if not furious.
When asked by entertainment reporter Jake Hamilton on his YouTube show "Jake's Takes" about how she would respond if domestic violence survivors approached her to talk about the film, Lively gave a flippant and seemingly annoyed response that basically mocked such hypothetical fans as stalkers.
She then forged ahead to talk up the film itself without ever actually answering the question. The incident has left many on social media furious and accusing Lively of not actually caring about the very serious issue her film and Hoover's book examine.
Some also believe the behind-the-scenes drama surrounding 'It Ends With Us' is a calculated self-promotion plot by Lively and Reynolds.
The flap over Lively's comments is only part of the drama surrounding 'It Ends With Us." Lively, who is also a producer of the film, has been outspoken about the influence she has had on several aspects of its production, and rumors out of Hollywood say that the project is her gambit to garner an Oscar nomination.
There have been reports of "creative differences" and a behind-the-scenes battle between Lively and Baldoni, including accusations of sexual harassment said to have been made by Lively. Many have also noted that the film's other stars, including Jenny Slate, Brandon Sklenar, and Hasan Minhaj, have been jumping through rhetorical hoops in interviews to not mention Baldoni and have unfollowed him on Instagram.
Some have come to suspect Lively's ambition is what is actually behind the drama. Rumors, including those said to have come from people who worked on the film, are now swirling that the accusations against Baldoni were an attempt by Lively to seize control of the film's final edit as part of her Oscar gambit.
All of this is just hearsay drifting out of the rumor mill, of course. But it has quickly changed the tone of the discourse surrounding the film. What began as a story of yet another supposedly "feminist" man being exposed as just another garden-variety Hollywood sexist and abuser has now transformed into what some are calling a JLo-style fall from grace for Lively and, by extension, Ryan Reynolds.
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Regardless of where the truth of the matter lies—and we will probably never truly know—that "JLo moment," as some are calling it, has been ripe for the picking because many on social media have been souring on Lively and Reynolds for years.
Fans have been airing their negative feelings about Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds for years now.
Many fans haven't been buying Reynolds and Lively's "picture-perfect" marriage for quite some time now and have come to believe it's all just another calculated Hollywood PR stunt.
In Reddit threads, people have called the pair "manufactured" and have theorized that, what one person described as, their "lol so quirky persona" is a calculated move conjured up by their PR team. As one Redditor put it back in 2022, the more the couple "try to push the perfect marriage/relationship goals narrative online, the less I believe them."
Reynolds' and Lively's constant trolling of each other has worn thin with many as well. Their annual roasts of each other have become something of a yearly (or, at times, monthly) tradition. But it's impossible to notice that the tenor of many of the jokes often lapses into cliché, outdated "ball and chain" type jokes in which the premise basic lies in a man hating his wife.
Reynolds' new film "Deadpool & Wolverine" has raised hackles among many online as well for the reliance in both the film and its marketing on humor in which being gay or Queer is the obvious punchline.
Some have defended this on the basis that both characters are canonically Queer in the original comic's source material. But especially for those of us of a certain age, the outdated "haha, that's gay" tone of the whole thing is pretty hard to miss. It's also not funny — not because it's offensive, but because it's dull and insipid. Or as one Redditor aptly put it in regards to Reynolds' zany persona, "cringe... like boomer humor."
It's impossible for us in the general public to know if any of this is revealing of Reynolds' and Lively's true character, though as one Redditor put it, the more they "try to push the perfect marriage/relationship goals narrative online, the less I believe them." (And as someone who has worked in the entertainment industry, it has been my experience that that is a good instinct about celebrities who work overtime to seem relatable and likable.)
But whatever the truth may be, the bloom is off the rose with this pair among many fans, given recent events. Whether it will unseat them as Hollywood's "it" couple or foil their obvious attempt to rule the current zeitgeist with dueling film releases remains to be seen. Time will tell.
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice, and human interest topics.