Martha Stewart has seen all of the younger girls come up. She has seen the way they try to emulate. She has seen them pay homage. And she will bury them all. Martha developed the lifestyle brand and she is still the queen of all things New England-y and lifestyle-y. Even though her brand has faded a bit, no one does it like Martha. So that’s probably why Martha has openly shaded Gwyneth Paltrow’s sad little Goop brand in several interviews. But Martha wouldn’t do that to her new friend Blake Lively. Martha even gave some nice quotes to Vogue about how much she enjoys Blake, and if Martha thinks Blake’s lifestyle shtick is authentic, then I guess it is. But now that Blake’s Preserve site has launched, what does Martha think?
Blake Lively gushes about her “idol” Martha Stewart in the August issue of Vogue, saying, “I’ve only ever found her to be completely generous and kind. She’s one of those people who connect people with each other. She’s there for you.”
So, how did Lively, 26, and Stewart, 72, become such close pals? “She moved into my neighborhood a couple of years ago with Ryan — before they got married they bought a house right around the corner from my house. And they started to come over, not to borrow sugar, but just as friends,” Stewart told HuffPost Entertainment during the Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival in New Jersey at Caesars Hotel and Casino on July 26. As the lifestyle icon explained, the couple eventually moved to “another place which is more private,” but still nearby.
“They’re very friendly, very nice people,” she added. “In a way, kind of shy — not shy on the screen, at all, if you’ve seen any of Blake’s movies — but very shy in person. But she’s a baker and a homemaker and now she’s starting her own blog [Preserve] … I haven’t seen it yet.”
As for what Stewart thinks about Lively becoming “the next Martha Stewart,” the mother-of-all-how-to’s said, matter of factly, “Let her try.”
“I don’t mean that facetiously!” she continued, laughing off the comment. “I mean, it’s stupid, she could be an actress! Why would you want to be me if you could be an actress? I just did a movie yesterday, though — I can’t even tell you about it — but I want to be Blake Lively,” she joked.
I think this is Martha trying to be nice, even though she gave some quotes which could easily be taken out of context and made to sound like some serious shade (see: my headline!). Personally, I think this is Martha once again hitting Gwyneth Paltrow, especially given the shade Martha has already thrown in Goop’s direction. Martha is praising Blake as knowledgeable and a genuine homemaker, perhaps a more legitimate heir to Martha’s lifestyle brand. It’s not like Gwyneth cares though. Gwyneth probably thinks Martha is much too peasanty.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
“I mean, it’s stupid, she could be an actress!”
Dear Martha, it’s been proven, over and over, that she can’t be one.
HAHAHAHAHA
Even Blake has realised it.
This did make me laugh out loud..
Spitting my tea all over the keyboard here!
I would rather watch the color beige than watch her in a movie.
true words never spoken.
OMG you took the words right out of my mouth!
I bet this is just due to Blake’s “likability”. No matter how dull she appears in interviews, I haven’t found her to be full of herself, which is probably refreshing. GOOP is one of those people that even if they did something well, it’s just hard to compliment them.
I disagree, I just think Blake is more intelligent than the average actress when it comes to PR-type stuff. She is extremely self-aware and can pinpoint the right thing to say (e.g., remember the “oh you’re friends with Matt Damon???”, etc.).
@HH – Oh gurl. They coming 4 u!
And Martha has given interview after interview praising Blake. No scandal here
(Although its interesting Martha seems to hint at Ryan being distant. Not the first person to allege Reynolds is cold)
Unless you’re referring to something else, I don’t understand why a polite disagreement means “[t]hey coming 4 u!”
I HOPE she was throwing some shade…Martha is the BEST at throwing shade because she can actually back it up and isn’t afraid to be blunt.
Also, Blake Lively is just gross. If she were a dude more people would call her sleazy.
Disagree with the Gwyneth thinking Martha is peasantry. As much as Gwyneth tries to delude herself she can’t take away the fact that Martha made what she does possible AND did so from scratch. Whereas Gwyneth…well, I guess we’ll just let her keep thinking she works hard.
“Let her try!”
Oh my god that was majorly amazing shade.
I love it,
The work of a master!
I don’t follow any of the homestyle brands.
I do think that people are a bit narrow minded. Mainly thinking that because you are an actor/actress you are not allowed to have interest outside of that. Somehow that being in Showbiz means you have to only be that. Some people have talents outside acting. They can actually do other things.
But comment after comment you see “sick to acting” or such. You can be more than one thing in this world and in a lifetime. Blake seems to be doing something she has always been interested in.
I still won’t be visiting those sites but I say go for it if you want.
I think Martha was actually being nice with that quote. She mentioned offhandedly that she’d like to be an actress, to be Blake Lively. This, after she was asked what she thought about Blake trying to be her.
I think most people have a problem with these “lifestyle brands” because most of the actresses who are now associated with them have just slapped their name on something to make money, usually because they can’t find steady acting jobs. These women have little to no experience in actually maintaining a home – they all have cooks, maids, nannies, stylists, decorators, etc. I believe that if an actress genuinely expressed an interest in the various areas that make up a lifestyle brand, people would be more inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Also, they’re treating the lifestyle stuff as a backup career – as though it’s so easy that these girls with no education and nonstop set can do it.
I read it differently- it seemed more like she was saying how being a movie star/actor is many people’s dream job, so she doesn’t get the longing to do something else, that she probably considers far less glamorous ad fun.
That’s how it read to me too. I know nothing about B Lively’s talents, not madly keen to watch her.
I do adore Martha though, she’s the one and only in this lifestyle biz, for me. It didn’t originate through interest in Martha herself…twas entirely the useful things she had to impart and share. Of course now she’s intergalactically famous, but I’m going back over 25 years, and still lap it up!
With these sleb versions though, you seem to require a basic wish to ogle an alien way of life specific to an already heavily mediated ‘personality’, and then hope to purchase bits of it ….I’m sure this an incorrect impression but it’s what jumps at me from many comments here!
I like Blake and Martha. I see no big story here. Martha obviously likes Blake and I see her comment as pretty harmless.
Exactly. Selected quotes twisted her actual opinion.
But there’s no gossip to be gleaned from niceties. Especially between women!
i agree for the most part, but martha has a history of being the queen of shade comments – she is masterful at it.
and there is and will always be one martha stewart.
she conceived and built a lifestyle platform and no one can touch her brand.
NO ONE.
it can be imitated, yes, but it will always be martha stewart’s brainchild and masterful art.
You know who could be a legitimate heir to Martha’s throne? Jennifer Garner. Mothers all over the country admire her for seemingly being so normal in Hollywood, being a devoted mother and wife. I bet she cooks and does arts and crafts with her children. She could be seriously successful in this field. But she doesn’t seem interested. Bless her!
She’s appeared before on Ina Garten’s show and Martha’s years ago as well. Either she was faking or she really did seem to enjoy cooking and ‘homey’ things. I think it’s the latter personally. Is a lot of it good PR? Yes but you can find lots of things that you’re interested in for good PR if that’s all you want rather than faking enthusiasm over things you aren’t.
She’s appeared before on Ina Garten’s show and Martha’s years ago as well. Either she was faking or she really did seem to enjoy cooking and ‘homey’ things. I think it’s the latter personally. Is a lot of it good PR? Yes but you can find lots of things that you’re interested in for good PR if that’s all you want rather than faking enthusiasm over things you aren’t.
… and she named her dog after Martha! 🙂
I remember when I was a fan of Alias, she always talked about a tomato and basil soup she’d make with farmers market tomatoes. It stood out to me because I love food and it sounded delicious. 🙂
Looking at the bottom 2 photos, it looks like they could be Mother and daughter.
Check out the big ears Martha has! Euch!
Oh, totally. I never knew she had giant elf ears until this very moment in time. Sometimes they just get you at a bad angle. That’s how I found out Drew Barrymore has a giant witch chin, on SNL.
Whoa those are ears of corn.
I came here just to see if anyone noticed that. I don’t think I’ve ever seen ears that huge!
I went through the site but it’s like I can’t understand the point of its existence
Gwyneth has always appealed to wealthy white women in their 30s/40s with time on their hands & money to spend.
Who is Blake Lively’s fan base? Can any of them afford ANY of the crap bring pushed here?
Preserve is the stupidest name and the stupidest site. I embarrassed myself reading it and had to log off, never again.
I like Martha, and I think she’s talented, but she lived in my ex-husband’s hometown, and I know plenty of people who have found her to be less than “generous and kind.” She’s an absolute bitch, in fact. But she owns it. I guess that’s something.
Yeah, I’ve heard that as well. She is successful because there is nothing or no one who could stand in her way. If it involved trampling, so be it. At least she doesn’t try to act sweet, although no one would really buy it anyway.
Yup. Just in case you couldn’t tell from her diabolical smile and the evil glint in her eyes (as well as the anal retentive perfectionism) that she is wicked, there is always the stray story to confirm how awful she really is to people.
Well as I commented below I think Lainey’s blind is about how not so nice Blake is so it now makes sense that Martha and Blake would be friends. Two ruthless queens willing to trample on anyone to get to the next level.
@GoodNamesAllTaken – Oooh any more deets?
Just the typical butting in line at restaurants, movies, etc., pulling “do you know who I am?” If anyone resisted, having assistants in tears, bullying people having tag sales into letting her come before anyone else…I don’t know anyone who knows her well, just people she was met at grocery stores etc. and was a complete rude diva bitch to. Lol
Martha is the living definition of HBIC.
Not surprised. She drove her poor ex-husband crazy. He ran off and married the help (she was Martha’s assistant). Alexis is turning out to be just as much of bitch as her mother but she doesn’t have the skills to back it up. I don’t care how much Martha praises her in the magazines (yes I have a subscription but she’s been giving it away for the last couple of years. You get a one year subscription if you buy her craft products), Alexis is not as talented as her mother.
It seems kind of sketch Blake & Ryan deliberately moved into a house near Martha’s and decided to come over and buddy up to her…. and THEN a lifestyle blog/career shift happens? I don’t know about that.
+1
That’s the shade I got from the article too that Blake moved close to Martha and started coming to her house to either copy her or get on her good side before starting her own Lifestyle brand. Blake is slick like that. Just like her cozying up to Leo to get Ryan Reynolds attention and sending topless pics to Ben Affleck to get her movie role. Girl plans these things out while managing to come across as friendly and harmless.
“She moved into my neighborhood a couple of years ago with Ryan — before they got married they bought a house right around the corner from my house. And they started to come over, not to borrow sugar, but just as friends,”
@emma – I realize I wrote my comment below right before reading yours but I picked up on the same think that Blake had a mission in moving next to Martha and befriending her and once that was accomplished she could move to an even better location. The best part is Nasty Martha is too much up her own ego to have picked up on it. Blake is very sly.
I love the subtle shade that Martha throws at Blake and Gwyneth.
Martha is hilarious. Love her.
My journalism degree is screaming from the dumpster about sh*t like this:
“Allow us to be so bold as to posit that a barbecue is an inherently medieval affair. From where do we arrive at this conclusion? Pray consider it, dear reader: the customary American cookout is a fundamentally Gothic idea, updated with modern values and cuisine.”
Huh.
me, too!!!!!!!
what about clear, concise writing…clever, yes, but clear and concise is achievable while being clever.
that’s a real talent.
this BS writing is comical…and insulting…
christ…
Martha is on my “dream dinner party” list. Her interviews (and her reddit ama) are so interesting. Such a cool, sharp businesswoman.
No opinion on blake.
I took away from this that Blake and Ryan were calculating in who they picked as a neighbor to court Martha and once that was done they moved to an even more exclusive and private place down the road. I also believe the Lainey blind is about Fake Blake. And to add to the commenter who said people are a bit narrow minded about telling actors to stick to acting, I agree with you on the fact that they might have other talents and interests, but as others have stated on here most of them just do it as a money making scheme (Jessica Simpson, Jessica Alba, many other lifestyle people, Reese Witherspoon, etc.) They want to keep the money train coming, and who wouldn’t, but they have an unfair advantage and fraudsters to boot (some of them). I would love to do some things on my own but I won’t have Vogue giving me free advertising. Certainly Karl Lagerfeld isn’t calling. There are lots of talented people selling things on Etsy that no one hears about because they didn’t get a photo shoot and cover spread in Vogue. I would like to know if Jessica Alba and Blake Lively are now business women, why do they need photo spreads? Shouldn’t your business stand on its own? I haven’t seen the makers of Pampers in any magazine photo spreads lately.
What was the Lainey blind about? Do you have a link?
http://www.laineygossip.com/Her-only-challenge-blind-riddle/30857
Wow, so much shade Blake can leave the curated artisanal sunscreen at home for the rest of the summer. Blake is so basic she makes khaki chinos looks edgy.
I love some Martha shade in the morning!
Also Preserve sounds like a brand of jams.
“Why would she try to be me?” Are you freakin’ kidding me? Who said she is trying to be you? She likes the domestic goddess stuff. Who cares? Did she go into acting because she was trying to be the Jolie? No! She’s just living her life. I can’t stand the humble brag! It’s so obvious. Martha- weren’t you a model, into stock marketing, politics and writing before you eventually went into the domestic advice field? Were you trying to be somebody else in each of those endeavors or were they simply interests you thought you might be good at? Get over yourself and sit the He!! down!
LOL. True.
And even the conservative ‘older’ demography commentors on the DM are side-eyeing Martha for this
The room quiets as Blake enters. She glances furtively to the others, each of whom lower their eyes as she passes. In the center of the room, she stills herself, her ankles quaking slightly above her Manolo Blahniks. She clutches a platter of cupcakes decorated in the room’s color scheme. From behind the desk, an eyebrow cocks above an eye assessing the spiked heel currently digging into the cherrywood floor. Blake takes a step forward onto the area rug.
“Yes?” It’s one word yet it permeates the whole room.
Capable only of emitting a series of words rather than a cohesive sentence, Blake’s voice cracks as she awkwardly conveys her gratitude to the Godmother, but suggests perhaps it’s time for her to head her own Lifestyle Organization.
The Godmother nods to Jennifer Garner. Jennifer, wearing her “BEN’S MINE” silver, etched pendant, glares at Blake as she takes a cupcake, places it on a sensible linen napkin and sets it in front of the Godmother. The Godmother notes the Azure stripe across the top. She shakes her head slowly; clearly room’s accent is Cerulean.
She clacks her nails in a staccato on the walnut Chippendale. Blake nervously clears her throat. “What do you think?” Jennifer asks. The Godmother pulls her lips to a perfect smile; wide enough to expose her teeth, but not so wide to display any honest signs of sentiment and leans forward,
“Let her try.”
(*snort*)
this is awesome
OMG, I love this! Especially this part…
“The Godmother notes the Azure stripe across the top. She shakes her head slowly; clearly room’s accent is Cerulean.”
LMFAO!
I’m all for a battle royale of the Lifestyle Blondes. Somebody should make a video game based on it. My money would be on Reese Poon.
There’s more to being martha stewart than baking pies. You have to be shrewd, ambitious, focused, relentless in pursuit of perfection. Stewart has made an empire based on finding the best team of lifestyle trendsetters to support her vision. She absolutely owns everything she puts her name on but I guarantee you she has surrounded herself with the best taste arbiters and artisans money can buy. Anyone else that tries to follow her will pale in comparison unless they are as cutthroat and willing to be disliked as martha. After that trading scandal there is no doubt in my mind that martha stewart will do anything to further her career and line her empire’s pockets. And kudos for her for shining up any tarnishment that dulls her shining brand. The woman should have a university course dedicated to studying her style of corporate strategy, it’s formidable!
Well she may know how to pick people to run her business but I wish she got better legal counsel. Last year’s Macy’s/JC Penney’s breach on contract debacle just shows that she doesn’t know when to quit. JCP ended up dumping her line in order to settle the lawsuit with Macy’s.
What’s ironic is that the CEO of Macy’s signed Martha to a lucrative contract right after her prison gig when no one would touch her. He was pretty upset about the disloyalty.
Martha, sometimes it’s better to quit while you are ahead.
Blake joined facebook and twitter:
https://www.facebook.com/BlakeLivelyOfficial?ref=br_rs
https://twitter.com/blakelively
Maybe Martha is hot for Ryan. May as well befriend the wife.
Blake’s whole “carefully curated life” bullshit is just boring, besides. Martha has a bit of that image, but she’s also proved she’s not that stuffy. Snobby and hard to work with, maybe, but she built up her brand over years. Blake’s trying to have it from the start, without any experience or cred. Whenever people are that calculated about their image, even in Hollywood where image is king, it’s because they have nothing else to fall back on.
From what I know, Stewart is pretty territorial and egomaniacal about being the first lifestyle person, or so she thinks. I think Julia Child really paved the way but I don’t know that much about the history of lifestyle branding. MS got caught for insider trading and did a few years in a minimum security place and her tougher-than-nails attitude is present everywhere. I do think she’s throwing a bit of shade here while being as nice as she can; she obviously enjoys their company but AST she’s pointing out that this she what SHE does. Queen Martha.