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Last month, Martha Stewart made headlines when she appeared on the Bilt Rewards Rent Free game show and shared that Ryan Reynolds is “not so funny in real life.” Ryan and Blake Lively are neighbors with Martha in upstate New York (I’m from Long Island; anything north of the city is upstate). At the time, Ryan responded with an unfunny, somewhat cryptic Tweet about Martha being “unexpectedly spry.” Ryan sat down for a lengthy interview with The Hollywood Reporter, where he was asked about what Martha said about him. Ryan took it all in stride, putting it into an overall context of both showbiz and social anxiety.
Question: Recently, social media erupted over your neighbor Martha Stewart saying you weren’t funny. Were your feelings hurt?
If you can’t take a punch in this business, you’re in trouble. But why would people ever assume the way they see you on camera is how you’re going to be in real life? Right? You’re just a person. But I do it, too. I’m a fan of people and I love certain people’s work, and I’m thinking when I meet them, I want to see little glimpses of that.
I don’t think what happened was designed to hurt anyone. That was just an incredibly valid observation that someone made. Lots of people would say I’m very serious if they met me. I can’t imagine entering any room in which I don’t intimately know the people, where I suddenly kind of turn on and perform.
I’ve always been one to be very quiet, and part of that is anxiety I’ve carried with me since I was a kid. And at times it’s very normal for anyone and everyone to experience anxiety. Some people’s anxiety, and I include mine, has a tendency to go down a slippery slope that needs to be managed to some degree. I grew up with a man, my father, Jim Reynolds, who would not say a word about anything that touched on vulnerability. But yes, I’ve always been much more shy around people that I don’t know unless I’m stepping out on a stage.
Honestly, Ryan’s explanation to why Martha doesn’t think he’s funny in person is both relatable and reasonable. It makes a lot of sense to me because I know a lot of people who are like this. They’re able to turn it “on” professionally, but really need to recharge or retreat behind-the-scenes. I also think that he’s right about needing to be able to “take a punch” in showbiz. From all that we’ve heard, people respect you for either punching back or deflecting these kinds of things in order to neutralize them. It’s also interesting that Ryan seemingly alludes to some of his heroes not being who he wants them to be. Heck, I’m a true extrovert, but, like most people, I also deal with social anxiety. Instead of being quiet around people, I overcompensate, and then leave every encounter wishing I could have been quiet and serious. I can absolutely see a situation in which Martha and Ryan are at some neighborhood bake sale and Martha expects movie-Ryan to be real-life Ryan, not realizing that there’s a reason that he’s not doing stand-up or improv. Maybe we need some sort of reality show with the two of them and Snoop. They can call it “Real Homeowners of Bedford, NY.”
Ryan’s whole interview is pretty good, and I recommend checking it out if you can. He talks about a lot of things, including Deadpool, his business endeavors, Taylor Swift, viewing Trump’s America as a Canadian, and more. You can check out the full interview here. It’s a good read.
I think he handled the Martha comment in a very mature way in this interview. He made Martha sound like an idiot, which is a good thing as far as I am concerned.
Agreed. He is much kinder than I would be. Martha meant to be a snobby b!t$h because she always is. She thinks her poop doesn’t stink and is superior to everyone. It’s who she is. I respect her as a business woman, her hustle, her survival, her doing her unfair time and coming out better for it but lets not pretend she’s anything other than a snobby, self righteous c u next tuesday. She can thank Snoop for humanizing her.
I personally don’t recall ever hearing anyone say Martha Stewart was a nice person. She always comes across as prickly to me. But whatever, she’s not my neighbor thank goodness. I still think RR is annoying though, lol. I didn’t realize he and Blake are so tall, they look like giants standing next to Cynthia and Ariana.
Just googled it. He’s 6’2. She’s 5’11.
His initial reaction to her comment was anything but “reasonable and mature”. He came off as petty and self obsessed. This is his PR team’s response, damage control if you like.
This. I can’t take his (pr) statement here seriously. The fact that people are falling for his “relateable” schtick again only shows how much he cares for this nonsense.
I’ve never been a big fan, but his f’n Mint Mobile ads at the start of every podcast I listen to have put me off him completely.
Didn’t Martha help them in their plantation wedding? I don’t believe that Ryan only interacted with her once or twice. If I remember correctly, Blake was a big fan of Martha, so they must have spent some time together. We know Ryan isn’t the characters he is playing, but he is the one who tries to act like he is so much like real-life Deadpool. His social media interactions are all like that. So, I understand why someone like Martha who knows him in real life would say bluntly he isn’t that guy. If he didn’t react with some unfunny joke first, everybody would move on by now.
I really appreciate how self-deprecating Ryan can be onstage and on social media. I just enjoy his type of humor.
And I love what he said about Martha’s comment. Much like Rosie, I am very extroverted and I turn it on in social situations only to later worry that I took over a conversation or situation. And I still need my alone time to recharge.
I think Ryan is an intelligent man. And he’s clearly thought through what response he’d like to give (after the Twitter knee jerk reaction). It’s a good take. And I’m sorry but if Martha was involved in their wedding and is now casually bad mouthing him in public – how unkind and tacky.
Having no idea how he behaves in real life, this response seems thoughtful and reasonable to me. If you never turn off the smartass remarks, you’re just Jim Carrey. And who wants to be Jim Carrey?
There’s something about him that rings kind of fake to me usually, but I thought that was a solid, reasonable answer and it makes sense.
I’m surprised he’s explaining his personality. I assume he’s driven, but I don’t think it would have occurred to me to think of him as funny since he’s not a comedian.
Maybe Martha Stewart was comparing him to Snoop Dogg and that’s how that comment came about. That said, I didn’t think it was offensive or anything. I wouldn’t be insulted if someone said I’m not funny. I think of that word as reserved for truly funny people.