Blake Lively Leads Princess Kate Cancer Apologies

Blake Lively has said she is “mortified” for having poked fun at the Princess of Wales over an image-manipulation scandal earlier this month, after it was revealed on Friday that the royal is battling cancer.

Lively leads the apologies by social-media users who joked at Kate’s expense after the princess was forced to admit to editing an official photograph of herself and her three children. It was released to celebrate Mother’s Day in Britain on March 10, leading to a spike in conspiracy theories and speculation at Kate’s expense.

On Friday, the princess revealed that doctors had found cancer present in tests done at the time of her major abdominal surgery back in January. In a video statement, she said that she has been undergoing a course of preventative chemotherapy. Newsweek approached Kensington Palace in London via email for comment on Saturday.

On March 15, four days after Kate issued her apology for the image manipulation saying that “like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” Lively posted an obviously edited photograph of herself, promoting her beverage line, Betty Buzz.

The now-deleted Instagram post included the caption: “I’m so excited to share this new photo I just took today to announce our 4 new @bettybuzz & @bettybooze products! Now you know why I’ve been MIA [missing in action].” This last sentence referred to a conspiracy theory shared at the time that Kate was “missing” because she had not been seen in public since Christmas Day.

On March 22, hours after Kate released her statement confirming that she has cancer, Lively—married to movie star Ryan Reynolds, who has publicly met with royal family members due to his part-ownership in the Welsh soccer team Wrexham FC—posted an Instagram story telling her 44 million followers that she was “mortified.”

“I’m sure no one cares today but I feel like I have to acknowledge this,” Lively said. “I made a silly post around the ‘photoshop fails’ frenzy, and oh man, that post has me mortified today. I’m sorry. Sending love and well wishes to all, always.”

Lively is not the only social-media user posting apologies for comments, jokes or jabs made at Kate over the past weeks.

On Friday, former Real Housewives of Orange County star Meghan King, told her 900,000 Instagram followers in a story clip that she felt “really bad” for discussing rumors about Kate through this time.

British newspaper columnist Owen Jones took to X (formerly Twitter) to voice his regret at not considering the severity of Kate’s condition before engaging in speculation.

“As someone who speculated on this without considering it could be a serious health condition, I’m very ashamed to be honest, and all the very best to her,” Jones posted after the princess’ announcement.

In addition to these celebrities, several social-media users across X, Instagram and TikTok have expressed regret for engaging in the discourse around Kate’s health or have criticized others for doing so.

In her video message, released at 6 p.m. U.K. time (2 p.m. ET) on Friday, Kate asked for space and privacy while she focuses on her recovery, while looking forward to a time where she can return to her royal duties.

“We hope that you will understand that, as a family, we now need some time, space and privacy while I complete my treatment,” the princess said.

“My work has always brought me a deep sense of joy, and I look forward to being back when I am able, but for now, I must focus on making a full recovery.”

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek‘s royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.

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