Blake Lively is under fire once again.

During a recent interview about her new movie, “It Ends With Us” — which centers on the topic of domestic violence — the actress responded to a serious question with a joke.

Reporter Jake Hamilton told Lively and her co-star Brandon Sklenar during a virtual press junket last week, “People who relate to this movie on a deeply personal level will really want to talk to you.”

“This movie is gonna affect people, and they’re gonna want to tell you about their lives,” Hamilton went on.

“So if someone who understands the themes of this movie encounters you in public and wants to discuss it, what’s the best way for them to approach you? How would you recommend they go about it?”

Sprawled on a couch with her head leaning on her bent arm, Lively replied sarcastically, “Maybe asking for, like, my address, or my phone number. Or, like, location share?! I could just location-share you and then we could…”

Laughing, she trailed off, as Sklenar sat silently.

Swarms online were “appalled” by Lively’s lighthearted response.

“What a garbage answer where is her media training?!?” one TikTok user exclaimed, with another echoing, “That response was totally uncalled for and cruel!”

“That was a genuine question, why did she do that???” someone else asked, as another critic remarked, “Why is she laughing this is so embarrassing for her.”

“She really said I don’t GAF about your problems, just your money,” another dissenter commented.

Others took issue with the way Lively was sitting for the conversation. “Why is she on the coach like that,” one of them wondered, while another argued, “The way she is sitting immediately indicates how much she respects this particular interview.”

A few, however, defended the “Gossip Girl” alum against the “dumb question,” with one person pointing out, “What does Blake Lively know about DV? Does acting in a movie make you a therapist? What actor has the time to arrange a chit chat with someone who resonated w movie?”

Someone else added, “I have to agree. Her answer was awful but the question is kind of strange too, people should not approach her for advice or therapy…and her costar is equally uninterested 🤷🏻‍♀️.”

However, the majority of netizens felt Lively could have at least “promote[d] different resources available for DV situations” or even “explained why she isn’t comfortable” with strangers approaching her.

Earlier this week, amid claims she has not spent any of the “It Ends With Us” press tour addressing the film’s serious theme, Lively reshared a clip on her Instagram Story from a recent interview she did with BBC News.

“She is not just a survivor, and she’s not just a victim, and while those are huge things to be, they are not her identity,” she said of her character, Lily Bloom, during the chat.

Lively noted that Lily “is not defined by something someone else did to her or an event that happened to her, even if it’s multiple events. She defines herself, and I think that’s deeply empowering. … No one else can define you. No experience can define you. You define you.”

The “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” star wrote a lengthy message atop the footage, beginning by thanking “everyone who came out to show that people WANT to see films about women and the multitudes we hold.”

She continued, “‘It Ends With Us’ is the story of the female experience. All the highest highs and the lowest lows. And we are so proud of it.

“We have been in celebration of this film and of getting a message so important out there to the masses,” Lively concluded. “Thank you all for embracing @itendswithusmovie with the same pain, love and joy we had sharing it with you all.”

In the subsequent slide, the mother of four posted stats on intimate partner violence as well as a link for the hotline and access to “immediate help.”

Prior to the upload, Lively had been called out by social media users for focusing on floral fashion, her new Blake Brown haircare line and her husband Ryan Reynolds’ “Deadpool & Wolverine” movie — all while promoting “It Ends With Us.”

On the contrary, many have praised the film’s director — and Lively’s co-star — Justin Baldoni for discussing the movie’s message in numerous interviews.

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Source: Los Angeles Times (edited)