Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds‘ PR woes have continued this week after the Deadpool star told reporters that both he and Blake come from “working class” backgrounds. While this is reportedly true for Ryan, it doesn’t seem to be the case for the It Ends With Us star, sparking criticism from punters online.
It all started when Ryan, 48, was asked by The Hollywood Reporter how he and Blake, 37, are able to keep their four kiddos — James, 10, Inez, eight, Betty, five and Olin, one — out of the public eye.
“We try to give them as normal a life as possible. I try not to impose upon them the difference in their childhood to my childhood or my wife’s childhood,” he said.
“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.”
With the internet’s love for humbling celebrities, it wasn’t long before people fact-checked these claims.
Ryan is the youngest son of Tammy and James “Jim” Chester Reynolds. His late father was a policeman while his mother worked in retail before becoming her husband’s carer following a Parkinson’s diagnosis.
Meanwhile, Blake is the daughter of “Hollywood veterans” Ernie and Elaine Lively. Blake followed in her late father Ernie’s footsteps as an actor and director, while her mother was an actor and booking agent. The Gossip Girl alum has spoken publicly about how she grew up on sets and spent hours going over lines for auditions at home in her family kitchen. Her first film role was when she was 10 in a film directed by her father. Her siblings also worked in the entertainment industry. To some, Blake is considered a nepo baby.
As a result, it wasn’t long before people began calling out the famous couple for Ryan’s “working class” claims.
Now, just because Blake’s parents worked in Hollywood, it doesn’t mean they were automatically filthy rich. I doubt that as a kid Blake was afforded the kind of lifestyle she has now and can provide for her own kids. But, with clear-cut connections to the entertainment industry, Blake was able to dip her toe into the water easier than most — a privilege that helps in any industry.
Ultimately though, I think this whole hullabaloo is another example of celebrities genuinely losing touch with what the term “working class” actually means.
Remember when Victoria Beckham was called out by her husband David Beckham for being the girl who cried working class? In their very own Netflix documentary, Victoria reflected on her childhood in an interview, referring to it as (you guessed it) “working class”.
Overhearing the interview, David popped his head through the door.
“Be honest,” he said, prompting her to say what kind of car her dad drove her to school in.
“Okay in the ’80s my dad had a Rolls Royce,” she eventually responded.
“Thank you,” he replied, ducking out of the room as she sat there, kinda humbled.
A true masterpiece in documentary cinema. You can watch it below.
In cases like this, it’s not that the celebrities have any ill will. It’s just that their realities are so vastly different from the actual working class that they think working class simply means working really, really hard and not being super-duper rich.
When really, the working class refers to a social class of people who work in jobs that traditionally have lower pay, physical labour or don’t require tertiary degrees or a high level of education. By definition, Blake’s parents genuinely don’t fit the bill.
Middle class? Sure. Working class? Absolutely not.
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