Blake Lively has come under fire for using a transgender slur in interviews in the late 2000s and early 2010s. The controversy erupted after fans on social media began sharing quotes from the actress, reigniting debates about her language, according to Page Six. Lively, known for her role in Gossip Girl and her recent work on It Ends With Us, has yet to respond to the criticism.
The controversy began when a fan on X (formerly Twitter) shared a quote from a 2012 interview with Lively in Elle magazine. In the above-mentioned quote, Lively spoke about her wishes for future children, saying, “I hope to have some girls one day. If not girls, then they better be trans. Because I have some amazing shoes and bags and stories that need to be honored.” The term “trans” has since become widely considered offensive and derogatory toward transgender people.
The fan’s post quickly went viral, with many users expressing their disappointment and frustration with Lively’s use of the term. One user commented, “You just blew up the whole smear campaign with that,” and another added, “Not Lady Deadpool…”
Despite the negative reaction, some users were more forgiving, admitting that the term had been used more frequently in the past, but acknowledging that Lively could have expressed herself differently.
This isn’t the first time Lively has used the term publicly. In a 2009 interview with Allure, she spoke about her insecurities on the set of Gossip Girl, saying, “I feel like a tranny most of the time. I don’t know, I’m… tall? They put me in six-inch heels and I tower over every man.”
She continued: “I have such long hair and I wear a lot of clothes and makeup. I just feel really big most of the time and I’m surrounded by a lot of little people. Sometimes I feel like a man.”
In a 2008 interview with Nylon, Lively made a similar comment when discussing rumors of a feud with her Gossip Girl co-star Leighton Meester. She dismissed the gossip, saying, “You read the gossip magazines and everyone dates everyone, everyone hates everyone, everyone has had tons of plastic surgery, and we’re actually men and transsexuals. You don’t listen to the rumors.”
These resurfaced interviews have reignited debates about celebrity language and how societal norms and sensibilities change over time. Fans and critics alike are debating whether Lively should be held accountable for comments she made more than a decade ago, or whether the context at the time should be taken into account.
Reactions to Lively’s previous comments were mixed. Some defended her, others criticized her language. One fan wrote: “I’m not really mad about it at all. The word was used a lot back then. If you said it today it would be problematic, but there’s nothing wrong with wanting a transgender child.”
Another user echoed this sentiment, but acknowledged that better wording was needed: “I understand what she was trying to say, because someone should better appreciate all the vintage Versace items she owns. But she could have used different wording.”
This controversy comes at a time when Lively is already facing criticism for her behavior on the set of It Ends With Us, a film she heavily promoted. Reports of an alleged feud with co-star and director Justin Baldoni have surfaced, as well as criticism of her focus on her fashion and her new hair care line, Blake Brown Beauty, rather than the film’s themes of domestic violence.
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Blake Lively
