In 2022, the actress Anne Hathaway he found out he was the most hated person on the internet. She also learned a new term: she had become “Woman’d.” This refers to a situation where, seemingly overnight, everyone turns against a woman and she becomes the target of widespread criticism, especially online. A star, once celebrated for her femininity, suddenly falls out of favor. The latest “victim” of this phenomenon is another Hollywood actress, h Blake Livelywhich is now facing a “smudge campaign”.

Step 1: Comedy or Drama?

It all started with the promotion of her latest film, “It Ends With Us”an adaptation of the popular novel by Colleen Hoover. In addition to Lively, the film also stars Justin Baldoni (who is also directing the film). The feud between the two actors is now well-known, but the differences in the marketing strategies they follow have caused a sensation. Lively and Baldoni have given very different interviews, always separately.

While Baldoni used the platform to highlight the serious issue of gender-based violence, Lively took a lighter approach, calling it a romantic comedy. She encouraged “the girls” to wear floral dresses (a recurring motif in the film) to the theater and used the moment to promote her personal ventures, including a line of hair care products and a drinks brand.

This frivolity did not go unnoticed on social media. “This is the most insensitive thing I have ever seen in my life. This movie is about domestic violence. Why are they promoting it as if it were a Barbie movie?’one user commented on X.

Asked on the red carpet what it meant to her to play an abused woman, Lively didn’t take the opportunity to raise awareness about the issue, but instead assured that the star is much more than a victim: “No experience can define you, you define yourself”he said.

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Step 2: “Have you seen my hair?”

In a thought-provoking article, New York Times reporter Esther Zuckerman explores how the film draws ideas from Lively’s off-screen business ventures. “Blake Lively’s hair is like a character of its own in new romantic drama”he notes.

“You could say Blake Lively’s hair is a tool she uses to sell her performance, but her performance is also a tool she uses to sell her hair. Those who were impressed with her curls in ‘It Ends With Us’ can learn from her Instagram that she recently debuted a line of hair care products called Blake Brown.”

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Step 3: Various blunders

At the beginning of the summer, Lively made a notable mistake. In the wake of the uproar surrounding Kate Middleton’s photos – where the British royal family has tried to project a sense of normalcy – the actress joined in—unfortunately, too—by sharing a poorly made photo of Katewhile promoting her beverage brand. Not long after, the Princess of Wales publicly revealed her cancer diagnosis. Lively quickly took to Instagram to express her remorse, stating that she was “humiliated” by her actions. Understandably, her fans “crucified” her. She was accused of exhibiting bad girl behavior.

@stan.hathaway blake lively we need to talk about this cross-promo #itendswithus #blakelively #justinbaldoni ♬ original sound – grace weissend

Step 4: The interview

In 2016, Lively faced her first awkward moment when she was asked about her relationship with Woody Allen. At the time, Allen was still mired in controversy over allegations of rape by his stepdaughter, Dylan Farrow, who claimed the incident happened when she was a child. Lively argued that in her opinion, Allen was empowering women. While it’s possible that neither answer would be the right one given the circumstances, her choice of words was not.

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Step 5: The Slavery Controversy

Lively’s secret wedding to Ryan Reynolds in 2012 took place at a spectacular estate in South Carolina, a ceremony attended by just 35 guests. While Lively wore a gorgeous Marchesa dress and Reynolds a dapper Burberry suit, the location caused controversy.

The wedding took place at Boone Hall Plantation, one of the oldest operating plantations in the United States. Boone Hall Plantation was featured in the 2004 hit movie, The Notebook, and today there are still preserved slave cabins with historical information on the site. Years later, Reynolds publicly regretted his choice of venue, stating: “What we saw then was a wedding site on Pinterest. What we saw next was a place built on a tragedy.”

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