Blake Lively has apologized for what she described as a “silly” social media post from last week that had poked fun at Kate Middleton, who announced Friday that she has cancer.
The “Gossip Girl” actor, in an Instagram stories update after Kate’s announcement, wrote that she was “sure no one cares” but felt like she needed to address last week’s post, which had mocked Kate’s recent photoshopping controversy.
“I made a silly post around the ‘photoshop fails’ frenzy, and oh man, that post has me mortified today,” wrote Lively, who did not name Kate in her note. “I’m sorry. Sending love and well wishes to all, always.”
The note arrives shortly after Lively shared an ad featuring an edited image of her kicking back by a pool with a beverage in hand to promote her lines of Betty Buzz and Betty Booze drinks.
“I’m so excited to share this new photo I just took today to announce our 4 new @bettybuzz & @bettybooze products!” Lively wrote in her since-deleted Instagram post. “Now you know why I’ve been MIA.”
Her post seemed to refer to a family photo that had been shared by the Princess of Wales and her husband, Prince William. News agencies later pulled the royals’ photo after realizing that it had apparently been edited.
Kate eventually addressed her family’s photo controversy, saying that she would “occasionally experiment” with image editing and apologizing for any confusion around the snap.
But this week’s cancer announcement, which arrived after she underwent a planned abdominal surgery in January, has seemingly put an end to recent questioning over her absence from public affairs.
Kate revealed that she is in the early stages of chemotherapy treatment, adding that it’s taken her and William time to appropriately explain her diagnosis to their children.
“At this time, I am also thinking of all those whose lives have been affected by cancer,” she said in her video announcement. “For everyone facing this disease, in whatever form, please do not lose faith or hope. You are not alone.”