Ryan Reynolds has said he and Blake Lively will “always be deeply and unreservedly sorry” for tying the knot at a former slave plantation.
The couple’s 2012 wedding took place at Boone Hall in South Carolina, which was “a giant f***ing mistake”, according to Ryan.
During an interview with Fast Company, the actor said: “It’s something we’ll always be deeply and unreservedly sorry for.”
“It’s impossible to reconcile. What we saw at the time was a wedding venue on Pinterest. What we saw after was a place built upon devastating tragedy,” he continued.
“Years ago we got married again at home—but shame works in weird ways. A giant f***ing mistake like that can either cause you to shut down or it can reframe things and move you into action.”
“It doesn’t mean you won’t f*** up again. But repatterning and challenging lifelong social conditioning is a job that doesn’t end.”
The 43-year-old has since been focusing his philanthropy on social justice, and the couple donated $1 million to the NAACP Legal Defence Fund and the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights last year.
Following the death of George Floyd earlier this year, which sparked mass Black Lives Matter protests, Ryan and Blake donated a further $200,000 to the NAACP Legal Defence Fund – which fights for racial injustice in America.
At the time, the couple wrote on Instagram: “We want to educate ourselves about other people’s experiences and talk to our kids about everything, all of it… especially our own complicity.”
“We’ve never had to worry about preparing our kids for different rules of law or what might happen if we’re pulled over in the car.”
“We don’t know what it’s like to experience that life day in and day out. We can’t imagine feeling that kind of fear and anger.”
“We’re ashamed that in the past we’ve allowed ourselves to be uninformed about how deeply rooted systemic racism is.”
“We want to use our privilege and platform to be an ally. And to play a part in easing pain for so many who feel as though this grand experiment is failing them,” they added.
On the latest episode of Goss Chats, Goss.ie CEO Ali Ryan chats to Alan Hughes about life during the coronavirus pandemic.
The TV presenter admits working on Ireland AM has been a “life saver” over the past few months, and opens up about his fears over the future of his Cheerios Panto.
Goss Chats is sponsored by top aesthetic clinic Haus of JeJuve.
