Blake Lively is under fire again after internet sleuths unearthed a series of interviews from the 2000s in which she repeatedly used the transphobic slur ‘tranny’.
The It Ends With Us star has been hit by a barrage of criticism in recent weeks over accusations she has insensitively promoted her latest film, rumors of on-set fights with co-workers and resurfaced interviews showing her “disparaging” journalists.
And now she is back in the hot seat for an old interview with Elle magazine where she reveals that she wants to have “trans” daughters because she wants to be able to pass on her collection of shoes and handbags.
An excerpt from the interview, which went viral on X, sparked a number of responses highlighting other occasions when Lively used the slur in the 2000s.
The 36-year-old actress, known for her liberal political beliefs and married to Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds, was labelled “horrible” by online commentators.
Blake Lively is under fire again after internet sleuths unearthed a series of interviews from the 2000s in which she repeatedly used the transphobic slur ‘tranny’.
In the original chat with Elle magazine, Lively says: “I hope to have some girls one day. If not girls, they better be trans. Because I have amazing shoes, bags and stories that are worth appreciating.”
The star, who went on to have three daughters and a son, used the term again in a 2009 interview with Allure magazine.
“I feel like a transvestite most of the time. I don’t know, I’m… big? I wear six-inch heels and I’m taller than most men. I have long hair and lots of clothes and makeup… I feel really big most of the time and I’m surrounded by a lot of little people. Sometimes I feel like a man.”
And in a third example, he repeats the insult in an on-screen interview with his then Gossip Girl co-star Leighton Meester.
An off-screen interviewer is heard asking the couple about rumors that they “didn’t get along.”
Lively responded: “If you read the gossip magazines, everyone is dating everyone, everyone hates everyone, everyone has had loads of plastic surgery and they’re actually men and transsexuals. It’s like you don’t listen to the rumours.”
One X user highlighted the original Elle quote with the caption: ‘Sometimes I’m just quietly going about my day and then I remember the time Blake Lively said this to a reporter.’
According to an inside source, Lively, 36, wasn’t mean on set… but she was “effortlessly rude.”
The post received more than 18,000 likes.
One user replied: “I understand what she meant because someone should appreciate all the vintage Versace they have. But she could have used other words.”
Another wrote: “With this you just blew up the entire smear campaign.”
A third said: “No Lady Deadpool…”
A separate threat on Reddit posted a day ago accused Lively of using a “transphobic slur” in a video clip that has since been deleted.
In the replies, one commenter wrote: “That’s horrible!”
However, many Internet users pointed out that the word did not have the same derogatory connotations at the time and was widely used in popular culture.
One of them said: “It doesn’t really make me angry at all. The word was used a lot at the time. If it were said today it would be problematic, but there’s nothing wrong with wanting a trans child.”
Another wrote: “It was a different time. They used that word all the time in Sex and the City, even in scenes featuring trans people.”
Lively has been embroiled in a negative media campaign fueled by rumours of an on-set feud with Justin Baldoni, 40, her co-star and director of her latest film It Ends With US.
She received further criticism from her fans after promoting her brands Betty Booze and Betty Buzz, along with her new hair care brand Blake Brown, at the same time as the promotions for ‘It Ends With Us’.
Rumors of drama began when Justin Baldoni, who directed, produced and starred in the film alongside Lively, was not photographed with his co-stars at the New York premiere on August 6.
Some fans were horrified that the star decided to promote her own brands while promoting a film that tackles such a serious topic as domestic abuse.
Many have since returned hair care products to Target stores.
And she came under fire for a resurfaced interview when a then-pregnant Lively sarcastically responded to a reporter who complimented her on her “little baby bump.”
She replied, “Congratulations on your little baby bump.”
Reporter Kjersti Flaa, 51, told DailyMail.com the joke “felt like a bullet” because she cannot get pregnant.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Lively’s representatives for comment.