News feed
Image: Getty
Blake Lively is usually happy to discuss her style, but that wasn’t the case when she attended Variety’s Power Of Women luncheon in New York on Friday.
When a reporter asked the actress about her “go-to power outfit”, the normally bright and bubbly Lively was incredulous that the journalist wanted to talk about fashion.
“Really? At this event, you’re asking me about my outfit?” she said, according to USA Today. “Seriously…would you ask a man that?”
The Shallows star explained that she’d prefer to talk about her work with the Child Rescue Coalition, which was her reason for attending the event.
“I’m here so we … become more aware, and that we change, and that we build (women up),” she continued. “So, you can ask me another question.”
Part of the exchange was captured in a video posted on social media.
Blake Lively popping off after someone asked her about fashion at #PowerOfWomen – “Are we really doing this? Would you ask a man that?” pic.twitter.com/iPftkPfoeF
— Maeve McDermott (@maeve_mcdermott) April 21, 2017
Blake’s response is surprising, since she rose to fame on fashion-forward TV series Gossip Girl, frequently posts about style and clothing on her Instagram account, and has become one of Hollywood’s top style icons, something she’s embraced.
But she does have a point. Women are asked about their wardrobe choices on the red carpet far more than their male counterparts, leading to more stories about men based on their career or opinion, and more about female stars based on what they’re wearing. Reese Witherspoon and Cate Blanchett were among those that got behind the #AskHerMore movement during awards season, pushing back on reporters who asked them about their looks, not their work.
Blake was also there to talk about a heavy topic, which might explain why she didn’t feel it was appropriate to launch into a spiel about which label she was wearing. She gave a speech about the horrors of child pornography that didn’t shy away from the devastating facts of the abuse that goes on.
“The kids are getting younger and the content is getting more devastating,” she said. “When a law enforcement officer told me this, I asked, how young are the victims? And he told me infants — and I have a six-month-old daughter.”
Lena Dunham, Jessica Chastain and Gayle King were among the other celebrities that attended the event.
