LOS ANGELES — Movie stars Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively are apologizing publicly for their decision to have their wedding at a former South Carolina plantation years ago.
Reynolds spoke about the incident and the controversy surrounding it during an interview with online site Fast Company.
Reynolds, who's known for multiple roles, including his starring turn as the superhero "Deadpool," and Lively, who headlined the CW's "Gossip Girl," among other projects, were married in 2012 at Boone Hall Plantation in Charleston County.
The Mt. Pleasant property was founded in 1681. It includes a mansion, built in 1936, but also an exhibit featuring original slave cabins. The plantation offers tours and weddings.
Reynolds didn't receive much criticism at the time of the wedding, but in 2018, Reynolds sent a tweet praising the film "Black Panther," which features a nearly all Black cast. Some tweeted back at him accusing him of hypocracy.
“It’s something we’ll always be deeply and unreservedly sorry for,” he told Fast Company. “It’s impossible to reconcile. What we saw at the time was a wedding venue on Pinterest. What we saw after was a place built upon devastating tragedy. Years ago we got married again at home—but shame works in weird ways. A giant f----ing mistake like that can either cause you to shut down or it can reframe things and move you into action. It doesn’t mean you won’t f--- up again. But repatterning and challenging lifelong social conditioning is a job that doesn’t end.”
The criticism stung, and Reynolds and his wife say they recommitted to issues involving Black Americans. The two many large donations to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and have tried to focus on issues of social justice.
Reynolds' admission was the topic of discussion on Daily Blast Live, which airs weekdays on WLTX at 3 p.m.
