Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively apologise for wedding location

Back in 2012, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively tied the knot on one of America’s oldest plantations. The celebrity couple regretted choosing the venue as their wedding location after they found out that the place, called Boone Hall was a former slave plantation in South Carolina. Speaking to Fast Company, Ryan 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. Years ago we got married again at home — but shame works in weird ways. A giant f**king 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**k up again. But re-patterning and challenging lifelong social conditioning is a job that doesn’t end.”

The 43-year-old actor and 32-year-old actress uploaded a lengthy statement about their own mistakes in light of the Black Lives Movement on June 1. The couple also shared that they have donated US$200,000 to the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People) Legal Defence Fund.

“We also pledge to stay educated and vote in every local election. We want to know the positions of school board nominees, sheriffs, mayors, councilpersons. We want to know their positions on justice. But mainly, 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,” the couple said.

Ryan told the publication that his production company and marketing agency, Maximum Effort, has been doing its part in making sure representation and diversity is strongly considered when hiring employees.