Ryan Reynolds ran Blake Lively’s failed lifestyle brand as a 'tyrant' and treated workers as 'disposable'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Ryan Reynolds was allegedly the real player behind Blake Lively’s Preserve, her failed lifestyle brand, as former staff members have now come forward to accuse the actor of making the firm “unbearable.”
The ex-workers have alleged that Reynolds brought toxicity, as reported by RadarOnline.com, citing sources who spoke with Rob Shuter for his Substack.
Preserve ex-employees allege Ryan Reynolds ‘criticized everyone’s work’
One former staffer said, “Blake barely showed up. But Ryan? He was everywhere. He acted like the creative director, CFO, and king of the castle. And God help you if you disagree with him.”
Preserve was launched in 2014 but it was closed down within a year, with Lively, who's amid a legal battle with her 'It Ends with Us' co-star Justin Baldoni, claiming it happened because there’s “behind-the-scenes stuff that we just couldn't figure out,” as per E! News.
But former employees do not think so and put all the blame on her husband.
A worker claimed, “Ryan would breeze in, criticize everyone’s work, then disappear. He’d mock people, rewrite everything, then blame us for delays. And the worst part? Blake would let him.”
Ryan Reynolds accused of treating Preserve workers as ‘disposable’
It has been said that the ‘Deadpool’ star was not officially listed as decision makers on the firm’s site, but he influenced several of the company's vital decisions.
A tipster disclosed, “There were times people didn’t get paid for weeks. But Ryan always made sure his people got what they needed. Everyone else? Disposable.”
“Ryan always plays the nice guy. But the truth is, he ran Preserve like a tyrant. And everyone who worked there knows it,” another insider added.
Former workers even believed that Lively's brother, Eric, working as Preserve’s creative director, must have been pushed around by Reynolds.
An ex-staff member alleged, “Eric was an actor playing a businessman. Completely unqualified. But Ryan insisted he could grow into it.”
Preserve workers did not even have furniture to sit and work
Regarding the working conditions, they stated, “We were marketing $400 hand-blown glassware while sitting cross-legged on the floor. The irony was unreal.”
“People were paid off. I know someone who got $300,000 just to sign an NDA and never speak about what happened. It was that bad,” one source asserted.
Another source claimed that both the 37-year-old actress and her 48-year-old husband “sold the world this fairy tale marriage and wholesome business image. But behind the scenes, it was all smoke and mirrors — and Ryan was holding the match.”
