• Ryan Reynolds receives backlash for saying Blake Lively is working class.
• Lively’s parents worked in the entertainment industry and her four siblings are also actors.
• A PR expert said that being relatable can help a celebrity, but it can backfire if it feels inauthentic.

Ryan Reynolds is under fire for saying he and his wife Blake Lively grew up in working-class families.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published last week, the “Deadpool” star discussed his and Lively’s decision to keep their four children out of the spotlight “in order to give them as normal a life as possible.”

“I try not to force on them the difference between their childhood and my childhood or my wife’s childhood,” Reynolds told The Hollywood Reporter.

“We both grew up working class, and I remember when they were very young I would always say or think, ‘Oh God, I would never have had such a gift as a child,’ or, ‘I would never have had that.’ “Being able to afford the luxury of getting takeout” or whatever. Then I realized that wasn’t actually her bag of rocks,” Reynolds continued.

His comment about Lively’s upbringing has drawn the ire of some fans because her parents work in the entertainment industry.

Her father, Ernie Lively, was an actor and producer with a Hollywood career that spanned nearly five decades, according to his IMDb page. His acting credits include the 1989 comedy “Turner & Hooch” and the 1992 action thriller “Passenger 57.”

He also played Lively’s on-screen father in the 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and its 2008 sequel.

Her mother, Elaine Lively, was a talent manager who also appeared in the 1993 video game Return to Zork, according to her IMDB page.

All four of Lively’s siblings are actors, People reported.

In a 2006 interview with Radio Free, Lively said that she “grew up on set.” Her brother Eric brought her into show business when she was a teenager, she added.

“He (told) his agents, ‘You need to start sending Blake to auditions.’ And I didn’t want to make him mad because he’s such a good brother, so I just went to auditions to appease him and then after a few months of auditions I got ‘Sisterhood,'” Lively told Radio Free.

Some netizens criticized Reynolds’ comments in the comments section of an Instagram post by New York Magazine’s The Cut.

“I’m hearing more and more rich people say ‘working class’ when they mean ‘had a salary,'” one commenter wrote.

“You keep using the word ‘working class’. I don’t think it means what you think it means,” wrote another.

Reynolds’ upbringing in Vancouver was apparently more modest than that of his wife.

His father, James Reynolds, worked as a police officer and then as a food broker, People reported. His mother, Tammy Reynolds, was a retail saleswoman, according to Reynolds’ IMDb page.

Why do celebrities try to claim working class affiliation?

Reynolds and Lively are still dealing with backlash surrounding the film “It Ends With Us,” which may explain why they’re trying to focus on relativity, said Megan Balyk, vice president of public relations firm Jive PR + Digital, told Business Insider.

“In today’s world where authenticity is crucial, a working class background can make a celebrity seem more authentic. It can also help deflect criticism of privilege or nepotism,” Balyk said.

But an inauthentic approach can backfire.

Social media has made it easy for fans to fact-check claims and they are quick to report discrepancies, she said.

“If a celebrity’s claims appear false or exaggerated, it can lead to backlash, as we saw with Victoria Beckham not long ago when she said in the Beckham documentary that she grew up ‘working class’, even though her Father owned a Rolls-Royce. ” said Balyk.

There is also a risk that the struggles of people from disadvantaged backgrounds will be trivialized, she said.

Balyk said the backlash over Reynolds’ case may be due to people becoming increasingly aware of nepotism in Hollywood.

“There is a growing fatigue with celebrities who seem to downplay their privilege,” she said.

“A better strategy would be to openly acknowledge their current position while showing genuine appreciation for any advantages they have had. It’s better to be honest about your background than to exaggerate past hardships,” she added.

A representative for Reynolds did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by BI outside regular business hours.