Blake Lively has been a hugely popular celebrity for a long time. Her friendship with superstar bestie Taylor Swift, loving relationship with Ryan Reynolds, and fashion icon status at the Met Gala have made her an internet darling. So, why have things started going so badly wrong, and why does it appear that online fans are now 'cancelling' the Gossip Girl star?
Where it all began
The controversy surrounding Blake began during her It Ends With Us promotional tour when fans noticed a distinct cooling in her relationship with the movie's director and co-star, Justin Baldoni.
Blake Lively vs Justin Baldoni
Although the pair had appeared to be friendly throughout filming, internet sleuths noticed that while Justin followed Blake on Instagram, she and the author of the adaptation, Colleen Hoover, had both unfollowed him.
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While reports initially suggested that Justin had acted unreasonably on set, with the cast appearing to distance themselves from him, the narrative quickly changed due to separate interviews given by Justin and Blake about the movie.
Fans have suggested that while Justin has spoken sincerely about the serious themes of the movie, most notably domestic violence, Blake has been accused of using her promotional tour to promote her personal projects, including her hair products and drinks line.
They've also criticized Blake for involving her husband, Ryan Reynolds, heavily throughout the tour, including telling journalists that he wrote a pivotal scene for the movie.
Crisis management
Reports have also surfaced that Justin has hired a PR crisis manager and that the feud between the pair stemmed from Justin struggling with back problems and working with a trainer to strengthen his muscles for a scene where he had to lift Blake.
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In one interview, Blake suggested that fans go to the cinema with their friends and dress in florals for the movie, drawing criticism due to the contrast with the movie's more serious elements.
In another interview, when a journalist asked her how domestic abuse survivors would be able to contact her, she said: "Like asking for like my address or my phone number or my location share, or I could just location share you and then we could… I'm a Virgo, so I'm like, are we talking logistics, or are we talking emotionally?"
2016 interview
A resurfaced interview with Blake from 2016 has also added fuel to the fire. In the interview, Blake, joined by her co-star Parker Posey, appears to take offence when the interviewer congratulates Blake on her baby bump.
The pair talk amongst themselves, and the interview concludes with Parker visibly rolling her eyes at the journalist.
In defence of Blake
While plenty of people have been quick to share negative opinions of Blake in the wake of recent reports, rumours, and unearthed interviews, others have pointed out that these reports appear to be designed specifically to discredit the actress. Some have even suggested that the negative backlash has misogynistic undertones.
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Taking to X (formerly known as Twitter) to discuss, one person posted: "From what I've seen and heard, Blake Lively loves to turn everything into a joke, no matter the topic. Much like her husband Ryan Reynolds, but when he does it, he's called 'hilarious,' while when she does it, she's labeled as 'annoying.' We all know why that is."
Social media's response
Another person added: "I do not care about this drama & I'm not taking any sides as I do not know these people or what happened, but it's just very interesting from a PR perspective that right after Justin hires Johnny Depp's PR firm, suddenly things come out that make everyone dislike & discredit Blake."
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A third person wrote: "Not y'all hating Blake after spending the last year hyping her up. Blake hasn't done anything to hurt anyone. The haters are acting like she crashed a bus full of senior citizens into a tree and then lied about it."
Another post read: "I am not joining the internet to bully Blake Lively because of some made-up reasons, like a crappy press tour. The public has done this to countless women: Anne Hathaway, Chloe Bailey, Megan Thee Stallion, Jada Pinkett, Amber Heard, Meghan Markle, Yunjin, JLaw, Rachel Zegler, etc."
Another concluded: "Blake's co-star hired Johnny Depp's PR team, and now everybody decided they hate Blake? And the internet will 100% fall for it. She's not a saint or the greatest person (still married on a plantation), but this hate train is very much well calculated by someone." What do you think? Are there legitimate issues at play here, or a smear campaign designed to discredit the star?