Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart knows a lot of people and when she starts dishing, the 83-year-old, in true grandma form, says almost anything she wants to.
Just ask her Bedford, New York, farm neighbor, Ryan Reynolds.
During a recent episode of Bilt Rewards’ November “Rent Free” game show, she started giving her opinion on a list of celebrities that people from one of the company’s surveys might have thought were fun to hang around.
While talking to the company’s CEO and founder, Ankur Jain, Stewart was sure to name her best friend Snoop Dogg as one of the people that had to be on the list.
The former billionaire, who just dropped a documentary on Netflix titled “Martha,” also named the Marvel actor in a backhanded compliment, Ok! reports.
“He’s probably on the list just ‘cause he covers himself up in his movies and you don’t see his face — Ryan Reynolds, is he one of those?” she casually asked before adding extra tea, “And you want to know something? He’s not so funny in real life.”
The media maven, sure to know that her comments would go viral, added, “No, he’s not so funny. He’s very serious. He’s a good actor. He can act funny, but he isn’t funny.”
Then she backtracked the statement, “Maybe he can get to be funny again … I’m going to get in trouble!”
After seeing her remarks on his X timeline, the “Deadpool” actor weighed in, “I’d disagree with her. But I tried that once. The woman is unexpectedly spry. She really closed the gap after a mile or so.”
I’d disagree with her. But I tried that once. The woman is unexpectedly spry. She really closed the gap after a mile or so.
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) November 2, 2024
Many immediately told the actor, who lives with his wife, Blake Lively, at the corner home on her block, to take it easy while talking to the former model. She is a lot tougher than she looks, many joked.
“She’s been to prison, so don’t mess with her. She’ll shank you in the laundry room while baking a cake,” one person tweeted.
In 2004, Stewart served five months in a federal prison following her conviction for lying to investigators about a stock sale. The case centered around her sale of shares in ImClone Systems, a biopharmaceutical company, just before its stock dropped, allegedly based on insider information.
She was charged with conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and making false statements, and recently disclosed that she believes her former best friend, Ina Garten, stopped being her friend because of that.
Despite the setback, Stewart rebounded in a snap, not only reestablishing her brand and proving resilient in the face of public and professional scrutiny but also got a new audience after linking with the Death Row rapper.
Another person tweeted, “i am on martha stewart’s side even when i think she’s saying ryan reynolds isn’t funny unprovoked.”
Others on social media were shocked at the fact that there seemed to be tension between the “Martha Stewart Living” founder and Reynolds.
“I know It’s been a wild year, but I did not have a ‘get off my lawn’ level feud between Ryan Reynolds & Martha Stewart on my 2024 bingo card,” one person wrote on X.
An X user gasped, “Yikes. I don’t know what’s worse. Martha Stewart saying Ryan Reynolds isn’t funny in real life or Ryan Reynolds talking about Martha Stewart closing her ‘Gap.’”
Many tried to decipher the meaning of his post, writing, “He’s trying to say that he disagreed with her once, and she chased him down for over a mile basically lol. It’s a witty way of insinuating that she’s crazy, which is why to her he probably comes off as ‘not funny’ because he intentionally keeps his distance from her.”
Some did not see the actor’s comments as derogatory, processing it as if he knows his friend is quick-witted and says what she wants in her special way.
One tweet read, “Nicest way to say ‘the old woman was surprisingly sharp. good for her.’”
The reality is that at one time, the two were actually close and know each other really well. In fact, his wife considered the Hamptons staple her “idol.”
Lively even said in a Vogue interview, “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.”
Stewart thought fondly of the couple also. When she was interviewed by the Huffington Post about Lively in 2014 and said, “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,” she continued before saying, “They’re very friendly, very nice people. 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.”
At the time, Lively has started her own blog and moved into the celebrity cooking and lifestyle space, where it is clear that Martha is the matriarch. The comparisons were quick to come.
When asked if Lively could ever become “the next Martha Stewart,” the “spry” Stewart quick to quip, “Let her try.”
Friend or foe, when it comes down to saying what she wants, no one is safe.
