Blake Lively apologizes for poking fun at Kate Middleton Photoshop drama after princess shares cancer news
After Catherine, Princess of Wales, went public with her cancer diagnosis, Blake Lively is apologizing for her beverage line's recent ad poking fun at the Photoshop drama involving Kate.
On March 13, Blake Lively posted an Instagram announcing new flavors for her Betty Buzz and Betty Booze beverages, set to launch this summer. The carousel shows seven images of the new products, but the first is very obviously heavily edited — and seemingly alluded to the Princess of Wales’ recent photo-editing controversy.
“I’m so excited to share this new photo I just took today to announce our 4 new @bettybuzz & @bettybooze products!” Lively captioned the post. “Now you know why I’ve been MIA.”
In the ad, Lively is seated poolside in the first image, but several things appear to be digitally manipulated: The pool and the chair she’s sitting in are warped, her hands are from two different people, her body appears unnaturally positioned, and lemons and drink cans are plopped randomly throughout the scene.
This obvious editing in Lively’s photo is by design rather than mistake, unlike in Kate’s recent Mother’s Day photo gaffe earlier this month. Amid photo agency retractions and questions about the royal’s recent whereabouts post-abdominal surgery, Kensington Palace released an apology from the princess, in which she wrote, “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing.”
Lively's post has since been deleted.
The former Kate Middleton stepped away from the public eye earlier this year after the palace announced she underwent a planned abdominal surgery, and she was hospitalized for several days.
After weeks of speculation and conspiracies surrounding Kate's health and the royal family, the princess publicly commented on her health for the first time March 22, revealing that after her surgery, doctors found cancer, and she is now undergoing a treatment of preventative chemotherapy.
A few hours after Kate's video announcing her diagnosis, Lively shared a statement to her Instagram story. Without naming Kate, the actor wrote, "I made a silly post around the 'photoshop fails' frenzy, and oh man, that post has me mortified today."
"I'm sorry. Sending love and well wishes to all, always," Lively wrote.
In the original Betty Buzz ad, Lively's caption went on to announce the new drink flavors: Sparkling Oak Smoked Lemonade Mocktail, Sparkling Apple Ginger Sour Cherry Mocktail, Sparkling Tequila with Smoky Pineapple and Sparkling Bourbon with Oak Smoked Lemonade.
Lively was making light of the situation in the ad, but the overwhelming majority of people in her comments section did not take the joke lightly at the time:
“Very disappointed. I never would have thought Blake would go low like this. 😢talk about women empowerment. Such [a shame] to see this.”
“Nothing like kicking another woman when she’s down 🤢”
“There’s nothing funny about this. I thought more of you. So much for ‘supporting women.’ Must be just the ones you like. Hope you never have to face this mockery.”
“I always been a fan, but this ‘joke’ is so disappointing 😞 Look at all the bullying and hate it’s sparked and fueled in these comments.”
“Very disappointed you jumped on the ‘let’s make fun of Kate’ dogpile.”
“Oh bullying another woman!!! Especially a mother who is recovering from a major surgery”
“Way to kick someone when they’re down. Real mean girl move.”
Even Hugh Jackman, a friend of the Lively-Reynolds family, caught strays when he commented, “Yessssss!!! Please send preorder link asap.”
“@thehughjackman joining in on bullying a sick public figure who cant even recover in peace? Shame on you,” replied one person, while another added, “you should be better than this.”
But there were a few people in the comments section who supported the royal ribbing:
“More proof Blake & Ryan are Americas Queen & King!! ❤👏”
“Those are some Kate Middleton skills in that first photo 👌”
“People who don’t get the joke don’t get Blake’s humor 😭”
Neither Lively nor Betty Buzz responded to requests for comment from TODAY.com.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
