Ryan Reynoldsis opening up about his decision to cast the “Peloton wife” in his hilarious new ad, admitting that he empathized with the actress after she faced recent backlash for Peloton’s controversial Christmas commercial.
On Dec. 6, theDeadpoolactor — who revealed a newcommercial for his distilled spirits brand,Aviation Gin, poking fun at the viral Peloton ad — toldThe New York Timesthat he understood what “Peloton wife” Monica Ruiz had been going through when it came to being harshly criticized for the viral ad she was featured in.
“As an actor, I can certainly relate to creating a piece of content or being part of something that’s not well received, and how alienating that can feel,” Reynolds, 43, said. “We had immense respect for any reservations she might have had. We don’t want to make the situation any worse for her.”
While the actor provided Ruiz with a way to make light of the situation, he also told the outlet he knew it would be a way to make his ad stand out.
“Ads are generally disposable pieces of content,” he told the outlet. “If you’re going to do something like this, you have to jump on the zeitgeist-y moment as it happens.”
Ruiz told PEOPLE in a statement that she appreciated Reynolds and his company for reaching out to her.
“When Ryan and his production team called about Aviation Gin, they helped me find some humor in the situation. I am grateful to both Peloton and now Aviation Gin for the work and giving me the opportunity to do what I love to do,” she said.
In Reynolds’ ad, an exhausted-looking Ruiz is seen staring blankly, dead-on at the camera while seated at a bar with two friends. After coming out of her long daze, she tells her pals, “This gin is really smooth.”
Her friends agree as one offers, “We can get you another one.”
The other friend then says, “You’re safe here.”
“To new beginnings,” Ruiz responds back, raising her glass before quickly gulping the cocktail in one breath.
The clip then transitions to show a bottle of Aviation Gin.
“Peloton actress!!!” another wrote.
Last week, Pelotonreleased the holiday adin support of their high-end fitness equipment — and instead of convincing consumers to shop, the commercial spun up some controversy.
Upon receiving the pricey cycling bike from Hunter’s character — who only utters one line in the 30-second commercial — the ad follows Ruiz’s yearlong fitness journey as she records herself working out. The commercial ends with the couple watching a video of the wife’s Peloton journey, in which the woman thanks her husband for changing her life.
“A year ago, I didn’t realize how much this would change me,” she says at the end of the commercial, as she and her husband sit on a couch and watch video footage of her workouts from the past year. “Thank you.”
Sean Hunter and Monica Ruiz.Peloton
Twitter users werequick to mock the ad, calling out its supposed message of a husband wanting his fit wife to lose weight and her being “nervous” about riding an indoor bike.
But Hunter said upset social media critics turned the ad “into a nasty thing.”
“People turned down a pretty dark path and it turned into a nasty thing,” the actor and teacher toldGood Morning Americain an interview on Dec. 6.
“Once something goes viral, and it turns viral, people jump on that negative bandwagon and start to create any dialogue they want. My image is being associated with sexism, with the patriarchy, with abuse, with these words that I am seeing people write about me — that’s not who I am,” Hunter said, adding that the negative response to the ad makes him question the effects of social media on today’s society.
As for Ruiz’s new commercial, Hunter is a fan.
“We constantly hear from our members how their lives have been meaningfully and positively impacted after purchasing or being gifted a Peloton Bike or Tread, often in ways that surprise them,” a company spokesperson told PEOPLE in a statement.
source: people.com
