The seriousness of the news quickly extinguished the jokes.
“Mortified” actress Blake Lively expressed remorse following Kate Middleton's cancer revelation on Friday, after she made fun of a photoshopped photo of the princess.
The photo, published at the beginning of March on the occasion of Mother's Day in the United Kingdom after weeks of silence from Prince William's wife, had revived speculation about her state of health and triggered taunts on social networks.
Quickly after the news of Kate's illness, which was revealed in a video posted Friday evening, the Gossip Girl star apologized.
“I'm sure no one cares about it these days, but I feel like I have to acknowledge it.
I made a stupid post about the Photoshop failure frenzy,” the actress lamented in a message posted as a story on Instagram.
Blake Lively has apologized for her Instagram post mocking Kate.
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— saad 🇬🇧 ⸆⸉ (@crowndefensx) March 22, 2024
“This post mortified me today.
I’m sorry,” she added, before “sending(r) love and good health wishes to everyone, always.”
According to Sky News, the American actress had fun with the imbroglio around Kate's image by sharing a very retouched photo of herself, in which she even appeared with disproportionate features, to promote its two beverage brands, Betty Booze and Betty Buzz.
“I'm excited to share this new photo I took today to announce our four new products,” the caption read.
“You now know why I disappeared,” the actress continued.
A direct reference to the embarrassing photo of the princess, who admitted “trying to edit” photos to justify crude retouching of the image.
Blake Lively's post has since been removed.
American stars under pressure
Since the announcement of the princess's cancer, several other American celebrities who had made fun of the retouched photo have been called to apologize.
Among them, the influencer Kim Kardashian, who published a series of photos of herself on Instagram a few days ago, with the caption “On the way to find Kate”.
In the comments, several Internet users urged the star to apologize.
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A post shared by Kim Kardashian (@kimkardashian)
Late Show host Stephen Colbert was reportedly threatened with legal action after joking about an unfounded rumor that Kate's absence was linked to husband William's alleged infidelities , according to The Guardian.
The comedian's Instagram account was flooded with messages from angry Internet users, accusing him of having “made fun of a woman with cancer”.
Also read: Kate Middleton's cancer: British media asked to respect her family's privacy
Conversely, American actress and producer Jamie Lee Curtis had called on Instagram to respect “a private matter” affecting a princess “who clearly has a health problem”, a few hours before the cancer announcement.
“We should send our best wishes to him and his family, and focus on our own lives and those of those directly related to us, as well as the myriad issues that threaten the lives of our children and which we can concentrate,” she added after Kate’s video was broadcast.
The day after the announcement of the pathology, the British media quickly attacked those who had circulated speculation and false theories about the withdrawal from public life of William's wife.
“Online trolls who revel in a princess' misery should be ashamed,” wrote the Daily Telegraph, while the Daily Mail wondered “how do all those vile online trolls feel now”.