Blake Lively is facing renewed criticism after a clip from a 10-year-old Vogue interview surfaced.
The 37-year-old has come under fire for her promotion of the controversial film It Ends With Us and for rumors of a feud with her co-star and the film’s director, Justin Baldoni.
A series of old interview clips that appear to cast Lively in a bad light have resurfaced in recent weeks. The latest video originally aired July 2014 and features a Vogue journalist asking the actress “which movie made you laugh the hardest” – with the actress’ response leaving social media users stunned.
“Shawshank Redemption,” she says, her face deadpan.
Blake Lively is being criticized for her tone-deaf response after video of her 73 Questions With Vogue segment surfaced
The journalist laughs briefly and then quickly asks the next question.
The 1994 film is notoriously bleak. Set in a prison, it centers on a banker, played by Tim Robbins, who is sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife and the man she was cheating on him with.
However, he continues to maintain his innocence and eventually befriends a fellow inmate, played by Morgan Freeman, while also experiencing the cruelties of prison.
Blake’s response seemed like an attempt at humor, but social media users couldn’t resist pointing out the awkward interaction.
“The Shawshank Redemption? I cried watching it,” said one surprised user.
“Even as a joke I wouldn’t have picked Shawshank Redemption. Something like The Human Centipede or Silence of the Lambs would have been a better fit,” another user joked.
‘Shawshank is one of my favorite movies but LAUGHING through it is CRAZY! I literally cry every time I watch it,’ wrote another.
The 1994 film – starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman – is a notoriously bleak film
Blake recently faced criticism for the way she promoted the film, amid allegations of a rumored rift with Justin Baldoni, who plays her on-screen love interest
Based on the novel of the same name by Colleen Hoover, It Ends With Us follows Lily Bloom, played by Blake, who becomes embroiled in an abusive relationship with Ryle Kincaid, played by Justin Bieber.
“Guys, this is just sarcasm, just delivered badly,” someone said in Lively’s defense.
Lively recently faced criticism for the way she promoted It Ends With Us, amid allegations of a split with Justin Baldoni, who plays her romantic partner.
The film, based on the novel of the same name by Colleen Hoover, follows Lily Bloom, played by Blake, who becomes embroiled in an abusive relationship with Ryle Kincaid, played by Justin.
Rumors of a rift between the two stars emerged after fans noticed that they didn’t hold any sort of press conference ahead of the film’s release and that they didn’t interact with each other on the red carpet at the premiere in Los Angeles.
Lively has since faced a lot of criticism for her past “mean girl” behavior and comments in multiple interviews that have surfaced over the years, including her use of the transgender slur “tranny.”
The film focuses primarily on domestic violence, with the Gossip Girl actress facing criticism for the way she ridiculed serious questions about the issues during interviews.
Amid the controversy, a journalist resurfaced an “awkward” interview she had with Blake in 2016, further fueling public anger.
During that conversation, the actress made a sarcastic remark about Norwegian reporter Kjersti Flaa’s “belly” after she had congratulated the then-pregnant Blake on her upcoming delivery. However, the journalist was not pregnant.