Yahoo Lifestyle Ryan Reynolds Faces Backlash For Saying Wife Blake Lively Grew Up 'Very Working Class'
Ryan Reynolds has claimed that he and his wife Blake Lively grew up “very working class,” and the internet is ready to pull their hair out as a result.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Reynoldsdrew from his and Lively’s childhood experiences while explaining that the two actors try to give their four children “as normal a life as possible” despite their own fame.
“I try not to impose upon them the difference in their childhood to my childhood or my wife’s childhood,” Reynolds told THR in an interview published Dec. 13.
He continued, “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,” he added.
Reynold’s statement that his wife had a “working class” upbringing ruffled feathers online. Lively’s parents, Ernie and Elaine Lively, are both in the entertainment industry: Her father is an actor and director, while her mother works as a talent manager.
Her four siblings have all embarked on acting careers as well, with the “It Ends with Us” star being the last of her siblings to start acting, according to People.
Social media users were skeptical after The Cut reposted Reynolds’ quote from the interview on Instagram Tuesday.
“Quick search: She grew up in Tarzana and then went to Burbank High. Her whole family was in the entertainment business. She was cast in Sisterhood for the Traveling Pants while she was a teen. It’s giving at least middle class,” one person commented.
Another wrote, “More and more I’m learning that rich people say “working class” when they mean “had a salary.”
Meanwhile, Reynolds’ mom, Tammy Reynolds, was a retail saleswoman, and his father, Jim Reynolds, was a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Vancouver, Canada.
His depiction of his childhood also garnered some skeptics, however.
“Reynolds grew up and went to school in a pretty expensive neighborhood in Vancouver. Definitely not a place working class people afford,” one commenter said.
Elsewhere in Reynolds’ interview with THR, the “Spirited” star said that his kids are “very much in touch with gratitude and understanding the world enough to have a strong sense of empathy.”
“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,” he added. “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.”