Swift returned from Europe to be photographed hosting a birthday bash for Lively, who has suffered a stunning fall from grace over her off-screen actions related to her new film, ‘It Ends With Us’
Blake Lively won’t be canceled, not if Taylor Swift can help it.
The pop mega-star hosted a 37th birthday bash for her good friend Lively at her Rhode Island estate over the weekend, the Daily Mail reported. Very conveniently for this apparent reputation-laundering exercise, paparazzi were able to capture photos of the embattled “Gossip Girl” star on the balcony of Swift’s seaside mansion with at least two of her four children with Ryan Reynolds.
Other photos showed Reynolds at the A-list gathering, along with some of Swift’s other famous, beautiful friends: Bradley Cooper and his supermodel girlfriend, Gigi Hadid, and Travis Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs teammate Patrick Mahomes and his wife, Brittany Mahomes, the Daily Mail reported.
So, in the protected, rarefied bubble of Swift’s Rhode Island estate, Lively is still beloved and celebrated. But that hasn’t been the case outside of this bubble.
Lively has become the star of a new cautionary tale about a celebrity’s stunning fall from grace. The actor, producer, lifestyle entrepreneur and fashion influencer has sustained weeks of backlash over her public persona and her actions related to the production and promotion of her new film, “It Ends With Us.”
While the movie was a box-office hit, Lively has not been faring so well, with a source telling the Daily Mail that she’s “fearing” for her career and thinking she may need to take “a step back” to “reassess her future.”
“She thought this was her moment to shine but is now looking at it like the end of her career,” the source told the Daily Mail. “She’s fearing no one will want to work with her after this.”
The backlash began in the lead-up to the movie’s Aug. 6 release. Reports began emerging that she had an on-set feud with Justin Baldoni, the film’s director and her co-star. People began taking sides over who was to blame, as the tensions between the two became apparent when she didn’t allow him to join her and other cast members in any interviews or in any red-carpet photo ops for the film.
But attention soon turned to Lively’s marketing efforts on behalf of the movie. This attention resulted in another cascade of online gossip and reports about her being annoying, rude, insensitive or imperious over the course of her career. Much of the criticism stemmed from her “tone deaf” choice to publicly downplay the film’s serious narrative about her character, Lily Bloom, being abused by her husband. The film is an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s best-selling dark romance about domestic violence.
Lively has been ripped on social media for doing interviews and social media posts that promote the film as if it’s a rom-com about a beautiful florist shop owner having to choose between two hot guys, or as if it’s a bubbly, “Barbie”-style story about fashion and a woman’s journey of self-discovery. In one of the most objectionable promotional pieces for the film, Lively was seen in a TikTok video, encouraging female fans to turn an outing to the movie as a fun, female-bonding activity. She declares, “Grab your friends, wear your florals and head out to see it.”
Further backlash erupted over Lively trying to “cross-promote” the film with plugs for her skin-care line or her brands of non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks, as well as Reynolds’ brand of Aviation gin. Advocates of domestic violence survivors pointed out the link between alcohol abuse and intimate partner abuse.
Swift was out of the country for the initial backlash against her friend, as she was finishing the European leg of her Eras Tour. But she recently returned to the United States and headed to her estate in Rhode Island to spend quality time with her boyfriend, Kelce, and with her good friends. And, as she’s back in the United States, the singer appears eager to show her support for Lively.
Swift has shown such solidarity for embattled friends in the past, most notably Sophie Turner in the fall of 2023.
Shortly after Turner’s husband Joe Jonas filed for divorce in early September 2023, his “people” appeared to leak negative stories about the British “Game of Thrones” star being an irresponsible or absentee young mother. The leaks came as it looked as though a nasty, transatlantic custody battle over Turner and Jonas’s two young daughters was heating up.
Swift, who had her own reportedly unpleasant history of dating Jonas, immediately brought Turner into her fold and displayed her support by letting the actor stay in her New York home and by inviting her along to women-power dinner dates in Manhattan and to join her in her VIP suite at Kelce’s Chiefs games.
Swift’s legion of fans unleashed their social media wrath on Jonas, which helped turn the narrative around positively towards Turner. But Swift and the Swifties may have a more difficult challenge in making Lively likable again. That’s largely because the damage to the actor’s reputation was largely self-inflicted and based on her own statements and actions over the years, including her choice to marry Reynolds on a former slave plantation in South Carolina and to start of lifestyle brand that celebrated features of the antebellum South.
But, of course, one should never underestimate the power of the media-savvy Swift to shape a narrative, whether it’s about herself, the current state of American culture and politics, or an embattled celebrity friend.
News
Revealing Dwayne Johnson’s financial success
Dwayne Johnson, known as The Rock, is the world’s highest-paid actor. His roles in Black Adam and Red Notice have bolstered his status.Johnson’s reach extends to television with The Titan Games and Young Rock, and his Under Armor line, Project Rock. His net worth is $270 million as…
Henry Cavill’s Superman Faces Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam In The DC Movie We All Wanted To See In New Concept Trailer
A Black Adam vs. Superman concept trailer brings the iconic DC titans together in an epic cinematic crossover after the Black Adam post-credits scene tease. It has been nearly two years since Dwayne Johnson joined the DCEU movie timeline as Black Adam, best known as Shazam’s greatest enemy….
Michael Bublé Reveals He Always Dreamed of Working with Snoop Dogg Before The Voice: ‘I Love You So Much’
Bublé, Snoop, Gwen Stefani and Reba McEntire are serving as coaches on season 26 of ‘The Voice’. Michael Bublé is Snoop Dogg’s biggest fan. In a roundtable conversation with the season 26 coaches on The Voice, premiering exclusively with PEOPLE, Snoop asks Gwen Stefani,…
Is Reba McEntire Leaving ‘The Voice’?
Country music icon Reba McEntire has only been on The Voice as a coach for a couple of seasons, but it seems like her time on the show has already come to an end. Is Reba leaving The Voice? Yes, after Season 26, Reba will…
Reba McEntire Reveals She Really Didn’t Want To Meet One Country Legend
Reba McEntire looks really outgoing and friendly. Sure, she’s the reigning Queen of Country and she has a stature in the music industry that is just about unmatched. Still, this gifted lady is seemingly so approachable just the same. It’s…
Richard Goodall Reveals How ‘America’s Got Talent’ Has Changed His Life
Ahead of America’s Got Talent‘s Season 19 semifinals, fan-favorite singer Richard Goodall is getting humble about his overnight success with the NBC reality competition. A school janitor from Indiana, Goodall has captured the hearts of audiences across the country with his renditions of tunes from…
End of content
No more pages to load