Blake Lively has given a subtle nod to Kate Middleton's edited family photo.
The actress recently made a post on Instagram announcing some updates for her alcohol brand, Betty Buzz and Betty Booze. The post showed a photo of her head blatantly photoshopped onto the body of a distorted woman lounging by a pool, with one of her Betty Buzz drinks in her hand. Seemingly mocking rumors about Kate's whereabouts, Lively added in the March 15 post, “Now you know why I've been missing.”
The mother of four announced she would be launching four new products for her drinks brand, including two mocktails.
The Betty Buzz account left a comment under the photo that read, “Haters will say it's Photoshop.” Many other commentators applauded the actress for how funny they found the parody.
“The concept of this ad… She is a mastermind!” a comment read.
Another commenter agreed, writing, “This is so funny and so obvious.”
Other commenters saw the ad as offensive and mentioned that Lively went too far with her joke.
“I love you Lively, but this is bad,” one comment began. “The person you are referring to is recovering from a nasty illness, she had already been bullied enough when she was dating William, so she had her share. “She hasn’t done anything wrong, leave her alone.”
Another commenter agreed, writing, “Calling Blake wrong… this kind of 'funny' isn't enough, especially if you want to be seen as a feminist.”
Earlier this week, Middleton had broken her silence over the dispute surrounding a photo released by the royal family on Mother's Day.
The Princess of Wales personally apologized for the confusion over the family photograph issued by Kensington Palace, saying: “Like many amateur photographers, I experiment with editing from time to time.”
She added: “I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion caused by the family photograph we shared yesterday. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother's Day.”
She signed the publication with her initial: “C.”
Kensington Palace credited the image to Prince William, but internet sleuths soon noticed inconsistencies that appeared to show it had been digitally altered.
The Princess of Wales's statement on Monday came as the Palace was under pressure to answer questions about whether the first photo of Kate, with her children George, Charlotte and Louis, after her abdominal surgery in January was Photoshopped.
Six of the world's largest news agencies have removed the image from circulation after concerns were raised about manipulation of the image.
Speculation on social media has been rampant, with the public wondering why Kate had not made any public appearances since December and expressed concern about her health.
“Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the past two months,” he said.
At first glance, the photograph may appear normal, however, social media users were quick to point out some key signs that the image may have been doctored.
The most striking thing is Princess Charlotte's left sleeve, which seems to partially dissolve into nothing. Kate's right hand also appears to be unusually blurry, while a wall near Louis' leg appears to go offline.
Royal sources told the Press Association that the Princess of Wales made “small adjustments” and that Kate and the Prince of Wales wanted to offer an informal image of the family together for Mother's Day.
“Wales' family spent Mother's Day together and had a wonderful day,” the source added.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today program on Monday, royal photographer Ian Lloyd said manipulation of royal photographs was common but the decision to remove them was “very strange”.
