Blake Lively became the latest American A-lister to pile on Kate Middleton‘s photoshop gaffe in an Instagram post promoting her new line of drinks posting a heavily edited picture.

Lively’s antics follow on from left wing comedian John Oliver joking that the Princess of Wales has been dead for the past 18 months and Kim Kardashian posting that she was on her way to ‘find Kate.’

Last week, the hosts of mid-morning talk show The View got in a heated dispute about Kate’s photoshop antics with Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg defending the apparent use of editing.

The backlash faced by Lively was swift and severe.

In the last jibe, Lively, known for her close friendship to Taylor Swift, wrote in 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.’

The Town star is sat beside a warped swimming pool in a warped chair, her hands are belonging to someone else, a lemon is in midair and another drinks can is sat oddly on the table.

The heavily edited picture posted by Blake Lively over the weekend in order to promote her new line of drinks

Kim Kardashian posted this weekend snap with the caption: ‘On my way to go find Kate’

‘There is a non-zero chance that she died 18 months ago,’ British comedian John Oliver said last week

Hugh Jackman also came in for criticism when he joined in on the fun on Lively’s Instagram

Ahem maam you photoshopped your whole face with surgeries did we complain ? Its not nice to bully someone when they are already low, shame on you,’ one person wrote.

‘So disappointed. Imagine if this was you, recovering from surgery at home and people mocking you,’ said another Lively fan.

‘Oh bullying another woman!!! Especially a mother who is recovering from a major surgery..,Very classy act from you… Think about what your BFF sings about Karma…,’ wrote another while referencing her friendship with Taylor Swift.

Fellow A-lister Hugh Jackman came in for criticism when he commented on the post: ‘Yessssss!!! Please send preorder link asap.’

‘@thehughjackman joining in on bullying a sick public figure who cant even recover in peace? Shame on you,’ wrote one person. ‘You should be better than this,’ said another.

This is just a sign of how KateGate has taken off in the US.

According to Sky News, mentions of Kate Middleton’s name increased from just 2,800 on the day before the photoshop picture was posted to a whopping 128,000 mentions.
Also last week, liberal topical comedy series The Daily Show devoted a six-minute segment to the Princess of Wales’ whereabouts.

‘I didn’t even know or care about Kate Middleton’s leave of absence, but then you release a photo so edited they have to issue a kill order? Well, now I’m all in,’ co-host Michael Kosta said.

‘You didn’t need to do forensic analysis to know the photo’s a fake… there’s three kids smiling at the same time. As a parent, I know that’s impossible,’ he later added.

Whoopi Goldberg slammed her co-hosts on The View on Wednesday for ‘buying into’ Kate Middleton conspiracy theories

Meanwhile, Brit comedian Oliver, a former cast member of The Daily Show and a host for a short period, joked that the whole scandal was reminiscent of 1980s movie Weekend at Bernie’s.

‘I thought, let’s all just ignore this, we’ve moved on — until the Photoshop thing. It feels like you’re almost handling badly in an impressive way at this point,’ Oliver joked.

‘There’s a non-zero chance she died eighteen months ago. They might be Weekend at Bernie’s-ing this situation. I’m not saying it happened! I’m saying it’s non-zero until proven otherwise. Until you see her with a copy of today’s newspaper,’ he went on.

Criticizing the Royals is nothing new for Oliver who in November 2022 dedicated a whole segment on his show Last Week Tonight to them in which called them ‘an emotionally stunted group of fundamentally flawed people doing a very silly pseudo-job.’

On The View, wild claims about the royals were not tolerated by Goldberg, 68, who appeared to grow increasingly irritated with her co-hosts’ speculation, blasting them for asking her ‘stupid questions’ as they argued over the editing of a Mother’s Day photograph of Kate and her three children, which was recalled by picture agencies over ‘manipulation’ fears.

Middleton later apologized for the photoshop misstep

When mother-of-three Sara Haines yelled: ‘I’m worried about Kate,’ Whoopi warned her that she was going to ‘get hammered’ for her comments and fumed to the ladies: ‘It’s not cute or funny.’

The photoshop gaffe was a rare misstep for the princess, who has hardly put a foot wrong in her journey from William’s shy ‘commoner’ girlfriend to the glamorous young mother who, more than any royal since Princess Diana, boosted the popularity and appeal of the British monarchy worldwide.

Kate has enjoyed overwhelmingly positive coverage from the press in recent years, but her relationship with journalists hasn’t always been smooth sailing.

Starting in January, she began being scrutinized more than usual when palace officials announced that Kate was hospitalized for abdominal surgery. They said she would not appear for public engagements until Easter.

Her decision to keep details private fueled a social media frenzy. The release of a photo to mark Mother’s Day in Britain, which was withdrawn by news agencies across the world after it was deemed to have been too heavily edited.