Blake Lively is once again back in headlines. This time, she’s not being criticised for trivialising the themes in the film adaption of It Ends With Us, being accused of feuding with the movie’s director and her co-star Justin Baldoni or even going viral for a wince-inducing interview conducted a decade ago.
No, the reason for the news item has to do with a claim made by her husband, Ryan Reynolds. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the Canadian actor addressed how he and Lively raise their four children out of the spotlight. (The couple share three daughters, James, 10, Ines, 8 Betty, 5 and a son, Olin, 1)
During his response, the Deadpool & Wolverine star declared the reason for their progeny’s normalcy was partly because both he and Lively grew up “working class”. “I try not to impose upon them the difference in their childhood to my childhood or my wife’s childhood. We both grew up very working class,” he told the publication. “ I remember when they were very young, I used to say or think, like, ‘Oh God, I would never have had a gift like this when I was a kid,’ or, ‘I never would’ve had this luxury of getting takeout,’ or whatever,” he continued.
Netizens quickly took to social media to point out that while the statement may be true for Reynolds, it certainly isn’t the most accurate description of how Lively was raised. For those unaware of her lineage, the 37-year-old was born in The Valley region of Los Angeles to her father Ernie, a working actor since the 1970s, and mother Elaine, a talent scout.
In a 2008 interview with W, the Gossip Girl alumni shared that her after-school activities mainly involved accompanying her parents to their acting school where they taught lessons. “Instead of getting me babysitters, they would just bring me to class,” she said. Lively also said that her desire to follow in her family’s footsteps and join the entertainment industry was during a two-month trip to Europe that she took at 15. “I would have these agents calling and saying, ‘We have an appointment for you.’ It was really hard to say no,” she continued. Before her big break in The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants, Lively also made her onscreen debut in a film directed by her father.
It’s not to say that her parents didn’t work hard, but Lively certainly possessed a certain privilege and preferential treatment stemming from her family’s connections. Of course, the whole encounter certainly feels like something straight out of a television show. The Netflix documentary Beckham, to be exact. As you’ll recall, David Beckham hilariously corrected his wife, Victoria, when she claimed to be from a working-class background. Though Lively wasn’t driven to school in a Rolls-Royce like Posh Spice was, perhaps Reynolds can take a page out of their book and “be honest”. Watch the hilarious moment, below:
