BLAKE LIVELY'S WILD WEEK AT CANNES
Blake Lively and controversy are two words rarely uttered together, but at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, there could not be more controversy surrounding her.
Newly pregnant Lively traveled to Cannes to help promote Woody Allen’s new movie Café Society, with fellow stars Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart. Before we get into the problems caused by her relationship with Woody Allen (not an unheard statement), it would be a shame not to look at her out-of-this world maternity looks.
The most controversy to ever follow Blake Lively’s fashion choices is that she does not have a stylist, yet manages to be perfectly put together at every event. But thanks to a hip hugging Atelier Versace dress and a curvier body due to pregnancy, Lively gave her fans something to talk about with an instagram post.
Due to the simple caption from Sir Mix-A-Lot’s 1992 smash hit “Baby Got Back”, Blake got slammed from many people saying this caption was insensitive towards black women. In a time where it seems everything offends someone, it is humorous how mad people got at Blake Lively for her caption. One commenter even wrote, “Unbelievably problematic, using women of color bodies as a joke, I guess you just want people to know you are racist and don’t give a shit.” Blake Lively has not put out a statement regarding the Instagram (which she has not taken down) but Sir Mix-A-Lot has come to her defense. Sir Mix-A-Lot talks about how the song was originally written with a black women in mind whose bodies weren’t considered beautiful by the mainstream because they were too curvy, but this does not mean it can’t apply to other races. Even though there have been some people who do not support Blake Lively’s post, many are saying that these claims are ridiculous, it is a simple song lyric and it is all being taken out of proportion. The most interesting aspect of this, for me, is how Lively chose to deal with the controversy. Often celebrities, or rather their publicists, delete the post and issue an apology statement, but are we hitting a point where you must stand your ground?
One would think that Blake’s controversy would have begun and ended with this instagram post, but remember she was at Cannes with Woody Allen, the unofficial King of Controversy. Woody Allen does not have the best reputation after he married the daughter of his then-girlfriend, Mia Farrow, especially with both of his children and Farrow constantly speaking out about his despicable past actions towards his daughter.
During the opening ceremony of the film festival, the master of ceremonies, Laurent Laffite, shocked the audience when he joked, “It’s very nice that you’ve been shooting so many movies in Europe and yet in the U.S you haven’t even been convicted of rape.” Many took this joke as a direct dig to Woody Allen or possibly the director Roman Polanski, but either way many found it inappropriate at such a prestigious film festival. Blake Lively quickly spoke out on how she found those comments to be extremely insensitive and in her experience, Woody Allen has only been empowering to women. Though a very nice and politically correct statement, whenever one says Woody Allen is empowering to women, people are not going to let that slide under the radar. Blake Lively soon became the figure of more controversy, or rather the opening of the conversation of male privilege and ignoring the comments of the abused. Even as Woody Allen’s son, Ronan, constantly speaks out about what his father did, it seems as if no one could care less. Once again, consumers are forced to ask themselves whether they can support someone’s product if they don’t like the person behind the brand. As of now, it seems as if Woody Allen’s career is intact, but all that could quickly change.
Within a short and fashionable week, Blake Lively made herself known for more than just a great outfit, but as a new creator of controversy.