She may be one of Hollywood’s golden girls but it turns out even Blake Lively isn’t immune to copping shit from the masses. On Thursday, Blake took to her Instagram to announce the launch of her new line of bevvies, Betty Booze, despite not being a drinker herself. Naturally, fans weren’t happy.
“Drinking isn’t my thing. But for fucks sake, flavour is,” she wrote on IG.
“Homemade recipes. Real fruit. Real ingredients. Quality booze. No crap. Also a real time saver. Which is why I really did it.”
While the cocktail-inspired cans look beautiful, fans were quick to critique the actor for releasing an alcoholic product when she leads a sober lifestyle.
“How can you market and create a product you don’t openly consume yourself? Come the f on now…”, one user wrote.
“I’m really tired of celebs milking alcoholism when they know it’s toxic and dangerous and don’t drink themselves. Money grabs from the celebs,” said another.
“It’s so shit when celebrities who don’t drink suddenly promote alcohol,” commented another.
“So she’s smart enough not to drink alcohol but wants people to spend their $ on alcohol so she can get richer?” a user said.
Other commenters remarked that she should have released a non-alcoholic option even though, well, she already has.
In fact, the new line of cocktail-inspired beveraginos is the second offering under her beverage-brand umbrella.
In September 2021, Blake launched her beverage brand Betty Buzz which consists of five flavoured non-alcoholic fizzy drinks. During the push for the initial product, Blake spoke openly and widely about how she doesn’t drink.
“I don’t drink. I know that’s odd coming from the wife of an infamous gin slinger,” Blake said, referencing the fact that her husband, Ryan Reynolds has his own gin line, Aviation Gin.
“Over the past many years of mixing but not drinking cocktails, it became clear mixers are the unsung heroes of the drink world and deserve just as much love as alcohol.”
And in 2021, she told People that she just “didn’t like the effects of alcohol”, but she “likes being part of it”.
That’s pretty damn relatable if you ask me.
While there was a lot of backlash from her recent launch, some fans stuck up for the Gossip Girl actor.
“A good business person sees a gap in the market and fills it. They don’t have to be a consumer of your own product to stand behind its quality. She’s putting her name on this product and risking her reputation. That’s a good business woman,” a commenter wrote on IG.
“The ridiculousness of these comments. It’s a drink, get over it or go try it, either way, keep it classy,” another quipped.
Truthfully, I feel a lil’ conflicted by this whole thing.
It’s amazing to have a celebrity promoting a sober lifestyle and releasing a range of alcohol-free fizzies to delight everyone. But ultimately stepping into the alcohol space is a natural progression for someone with an already well-established beverage line. It’s a gap in the market and one that ties in pretty nicely with her husband’s gin brand too.
Is it morally questionable? Sure, maybe. But with a little something on the table for everyone, I’m not mad at it.
(Image Source: Instagram / Blake Lively @blakelively)
