The actress, 36, from Los Angeles, has been under fire following her latest film
She’s one of Hollywood’s leading ladies having starred in blockbusters since the early 2000s.
But Blake Lively’s stint of being perceived as unproblematic appears to be nearing an end, with the actress, 36, from Los Angeles, currently undergoing intense public scrutiny.
It comes after the release of her latest film, It Ends with Us, which follows a woman named Lily Bloom, played by Blake, who becomes embroiled in an abusive relationship with a man named Ryle Kincaid, portrayed by Justin Baldoni.
But when the Gossip Girl alum, 36, sat down with fellow cast members Jenny Slate and Isabela Ferrer, as well as author Colleen to discuss the new flick, the light-hearted nature of their conversation did not settle well with viewers given the film’s themes of domestic violence.
It’s not the first time Blake has come under fire, with the actress having made a string of controversial decisions throughout her career. Here, FEMAIL reveals Blake’s past dramas, from getting married at a former plantation site to an insensitive Kate Middleton.
SHOCKS FANS WITH CONTROVERSIAL WEDDING VENUE
In 2012, Blake and Ryan Reynolds became spouses in such secrecy that their marriage stunned Hollywood.
It was three months after saying ‘I Do’, that the happy couple revealed the first glimpse of their intimate ceremony in Charleston, South Carolina – to which just 35 guests were invited.
In the first look at the happy couple in Martha Stewart Weddings, there was a sole shot of them holding hands as Blake, then-25, showed off her couture Marchesa ballgown and Ryan, then-36, sported a Burberry suit.
But it wasn’t Blake’s dress or the intricate details of their wedding that spurred controversy, it was the location – Boone Hall Plantation.
It is one of America’s oldest working plantations. In the 19th century, it was owned by Henry and John Horlbeck, who were in the brick business, building many of the public spaces in downtown Charleston using bricks from the plantation.
Boone Hall Plantation also famously appeared in Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling’s 2004 movie, The Notebook.
The couple were subsequently criticised for glamorising a place where slaves once suffered and died.
In May 2020, eight years after the wedding, Ryan and Blake donated $200,000 to the NAACP.
In addition to the donation, they issued a statement, which read in part, ‘We’re ashamed that in the past we’ve allowed ourselves to be uninformed about how deeply rooted systemic racism is.’
During the height of the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in August 2020, Ryan revealed his regrets for the wedding venue in conversation with Fast Company.
The Deadpool actor called the choice of location ‘something we’ll always be deeply and unreservedly sorry for’.
He said: ‘It’s impossible to reconcile. What we saw at the time was a wedding venue on Pinterest. What we saw after was a place built upon devastating tragedy.’
‘Years ago, we got married again at home – but shame works in weird ways. A giant f***ing mistake like that can either cause you to shut down or it can reframe things and move you into action,’ continued the action star.
‘It doesn’t mean you won’t f*** up again. But repatterning and challenging lifelong social conditioning is a job that doesn’t end.’
By 1850, Boone Hall was producing four million bricks per year using 85 slaves. Since the 1950s it has been owned by the McRae family, who opened the 738-acre estate up to public tours in 1956.
12 feet by 30 feet slave cabins still remain on the property, and today house information about the slaves who lived there.
The cabins were in use well into the 20th century, as they were occupied by sharecroppers through the 1940s.
