Did Blake Lively Lift Part of Her Ode to Slaveowners from Examiner.com?
We know that actress and lifestyle guru Blake Lively can't resist the "allure of Antebellum," a period in American history characterized by "beauty and grace" and also forced labor and racist subjugation. But Lainey Gossip points out that she apparently also can't resist the allure of rephrasing articles she found on the internet.
Lainey writes that Lively's ode to Antebellum-era Southern belles on her Goop-like lifestyle site, Preserve, seems to have been culled in part from a 2012 article on Examiner.com. As inspired as Lively apparently is by the slave-owning class of a violent white-supremacist state, it seems that she—or whomever she tasked with tossing the word salad to accompany her insane photoshoot—had trouble expressing that inspiration in her own words.
Here's the nut graf from Preserve's "Allure of Antebellum" (bold ours):
The term "Southern Belle" came to fruition during the Antebellum period (prior to the Civil War), acknowledging women with an inherent social distinction who set the standards for style and appearance. These women epitomized Southern hospitality with a cultivation of beauty and grace, but even more with a captivating and magnetic sensibility. While at times depicted as coy, these belles of the ball, in actuality could command attention with the ease of a hummingbird relishing a pastoral bloom.
And here is a similar one from Examiner.com's "Southern belles: a beautiful part of southern culture" (again, bold ours):
Southern belles were not considered chosen "items," such as the precious porcelain dolls that sometimes lined her parlor. She was smart, articulate, and very choosy on how things were to be handled in her home. From the cut of fine fabrics in the curtains in her living room to the smallest detail in her kitchen, the southern belle of the 1800's knew how to relegate authority and tasks with the ease of a hummingbird enjoying a rose bloom.
There is no byline on Preserve's "Allure of Antebellum," but Lively is credited with styling the shoot.
[Photos via AP, Preserve]