Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively Criticized for “Working Class” Comments As Stars Face Boycott

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively are facing significant backlash after claiming they both grew up “very working class.” Critics differentiated between Blake’s privileged upbringing and Ryan’s real working-class childhood. The controversy comes amid a viral trend of “ignoring” celebrities, reflecting public frustration with celebrity excess and perceived inauthenticity. 

In a recent interview, Ryan was asked how he and his wife Blake managed to keep all four of their children out of the public eye while maintaining high-profile careers.

The actors married in September 2012 and have four children: James (born December 2014), Inez (born September 2016), Betty (born October 2019), and their youngest, Olin, born in early 2023.

The Deadpool star subsequently told the Hollywood Reporter on December 13: “We try to give them as normal a life as possible. 

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively are facing significant backlash

Image credits: Gotham/Getty Images

“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, and 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. 

“Then I realized that that’s not really their bag of rocks to carry. They’re already very much in touch with gratitude and understanding the world enough to have a strong sense of empathy.

Image credits: Sean Zanni/Getty Images

“Those are the things that I would think [would indicate] we’re doing an OK job — if our kids can empathize with other people and other kids. 

“But yes, it’s different. When I was a kid, you would just suck it up, get out of the house and be back by sundown, which I just can’t even imagine now.”

The 48-year-old actor’s statement ignited outrage, as an Instagram user commented: “Be honest (David Beckham voice).”

They claimed they both grew up “very working class” 

Image credits: blakelively

A viewer quipped: “Things out-of-touch rich people say.”

A person wrote: “Stop trying to make Relatable Blake happen, it’s NOT going to happen.”

Someone else penned: “More and more I’m learning that rich people say “working class” when they mean ‘had a salary’.”

Image credits: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images

A Reddit user shared: “I really think a lot of people think ‘working class’ means ‘anyone who has a job/is employed’ rather than the socioeconomic level it actually is.”

A separate individual chimed in: “I just don’t understand this need that wealthy people have to be seen as working class. Like, you had money growing up. It’s fine. 

“Just acknowledge that you grew up privileged and move on and no one will care or judge you.”

Critics differentiated between Blake’s privileged upbringing and Ryan’s real working-class childhood

Image credits: Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images

Image credits: blakelively

A majority of the comments were particularly critical of Blake’s upbringing, as Ryan’s childhood in a working-class household appears to be true.

The Canadian native’s father, who has since died, was a policeman, while his mother, Tammy, worked as a retail associate, The Cut reported on Monday (December 16).

However, Blake’s parents were described as “Hollywood veterans,” by People last year.

The controversy comes amid a viral trend of “ignoring” celebrities

Image credits: Reddit

Image credits: vancityreynolds

The Gossip Girl star’s late father, Ernie Blake, was an actor and a director, and her mother, Elaine Lively, was an actress and a talent manager. 

Moreover, Blake discussed growing up on sets, in a 2006 interview, and her father reportedly cast her in a role in the 1998 film Sandman when she was 10 years old. 

The controversy over Ryan’s “working class” comments comes amid a viral trend of ignoring celebrities.

Ryan’s father, who has since died, was a policeman

Image credits: vancityreynolds

Image credits: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

A new trend urges people to actively “ignore” celebrities. It’s already targeted figures like JoJo Siwa, whose social media engagement plummeted dramatically. 

“We see the stark realities of superabundance in a context of precarity and scarcity,” Nick Prior, a professor of Cultural Sociology at the University of Edinburgh told Bored Panda.

The professor further revealed: “Many people, particularly young people who are at the sharp end of the emptying out of their futures, have had enough of the faux authenticity of celebrity, the idea that these are really just ‘normal people’.”

Ryan’s statements continued to draw criticism

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