She can do no wrong in the fashion stakes, but it seems the same can’t be said for her Instagram etiquette.
In the same week as being universally praised for her exquisite sartorial taste, Blake Lively has been slammed for a comment on one of her pictures.
The pregnant actress wrote “L.A. face with an Oakland booty” alongside a front and back shot of her at Cannes wearing the sparkling nude gown she used to debut baby bump number two to the world.
The seemingly innocent comment is actually a lyric from Sir Mix-A-Lot’s Baby Got Back, but it whipped the internet up into a frenzy.
“This is incredibly poor taste. Shame on you, Blake,” one follower commented.
“I hope she never gets another role again,” fumed another user. “This is so racist. How can anyone say this is OK?”
Various people accused the former Gossip Girl star of cultural appropriation, and “taking part of a marginalized group’s culture, yet not having to experience the racism that comes with being a black woman”.
“As if her getting married on a slave plantation wasn’t reason enough to hate her,” another user chimed in, recalling Blake’s 2012 wedding to Ryan Reynolds.
But a swell of loyal fans jumped to Blake’s defence. “Those people who are offended need to get a life…” said one person.
See all the news on Blake and Ryan’s second bub! Post continues below.
“The lyric she quoted from Sir Mix-A-Lot’s Grammy winning masterpiece was obviously being used to imply that baby got back, and then she attached photographic proof that confirms baby does have back… her story checks out,” one user amusingly wrote.
“Saying an actress cannot quote a lyric from a hit song , solely based on the colour of her skin, is racist,” he continued.
Meanwhile Khloe Kardashian and Katy Perry have both used the quote before online but it didn’t evoke such fevered backlash.