Blake Lively & Leonardo DiCaprio Dating?

[ladygodiva]

I agree with everything you've said. The amount of vitriol some direct towards her is a bit much at times, then again, the hype that surrounds her, the entire PR blitz we've been subjected too is also a bit much. One can't even deny she wasn't asking for it. Well, obviously she'd have never wanted to be loathed or disliked by people, but she did want to be talked about, and she certainly wanted more exposure and media attention than her talent and achievements warranted. And attention, as she's learned the hard way, won't invariably be positive. Won't people be forgiven to believe the worst of her when she's given them much incentive to do so. Public opinion of a public figure is, fairly or unfairly, moulded by the said figure's actions. Many of her contemporaries like Emma Stone, Carey Mulligan, Kristen Stewart et al don't garner as much snark and scepticism as Blake does, but then again they've chosen to keep a rather low profile and are concentrating more on trying to establish their careers through their talent and not via aggressive PR and incommensurate hype. What gets my goat is not that she's dating Leonardo DeCaprio or that she's the face of Chanel, but when her PR team and her fans try to convince me that she's really every bit a star as she's touted to be, which is bollocks! I feel patronised when that happens. I can judge for myself, thank you very much, without being TOLD that she's a rising star. Ditto with this entire Leo business. Her PR team will milk it for all this is worth, just like how they milk anything and everything about her. If this relationship receives more media attention than previous ones of Leo haven't, it is perhaps natural for people to assume that it's partially because of Blake's love for exposure, than the fact that this time he's dating an actress and not a foreign born model.

This so effin' much. You've just summed it all up perfectly and so eloquently. I've said many times I don't hate her, she seems like a sweet enough girl from her interviews (maybe that's down to media training or maybe she is just like that) but I hate PR Blake. The one that is thrown in my face, the one who Anna Wintour et al are trying to force me to like and trying to tell me that this girl is the **** and the next big thing and that she should be compared to the likes of Jen Aniston and so on. No, let me decide whether or not she deserves to be compared to all these other actresses and whether or not she's the next big thing.

By the by I keep reading from you guys about some 100 influential list, what is that? And what has it got to do wit Blake?

IDGF if Leo and Blake are dating, TBH it's not like as though if enough of us get together and object to it enough; Leo's gonna be like "oh sorry, my fans don't want me to date you... PR or otherwise." I just object to the blatant paparazzi pictures of them together when they both supposedly don't like their relationships making headlines.

 

[pavonine]

By the by I keep reading from you guys about some 100 influential list, what is that? And what has it got to do wit Blake?

LOL. The Time 100, are defined as the most influential people in the world. They are artists and activists, reformers and researchers, heads of state and captains of industry. Their ideas spark dialogue and dissent and sometimes even revolution.

Here's the entire list:

Wael Ghonim
Joseph Stiglitz
Reed Hastings
Amy Poehler
Geoffrey Canada
Mark Zuckerberg
Peter Vesterbacka
Angela Merkel
Julian Assange
Ron Bruder
Lamido Sanusi
Colin Firth
Amy Chua
Joe Biden
Jennifer Egan
Kim Clijsters
Ahmed Shuja Pasha
Aung San Suu Kyi
Cory Booker
Gabrielle Giffords
Katsunobu Sakurai
Michelle Obama
Paul Ryan
Ai Weiwei
Rob Bell
Fathi Terbil
Dilma Rousseff
Tom Ford
Liang Guanglie
Sue Savage-Rumbaugh
Takeshi Kanno
Nicolas Sarkozy
Michele Bachmann
Saad Mohseni
Chris Christie
Matthew Weiner
Lisa Jackson
Jean-Claude Trichet
Justin Bieber
Prince William and Kate Middleton
Joe Scarborough
Blake Lively
Hillary Clinton
Muqtada al-Sadr
Anwar al-Awlaki
Kim Jong Un
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi
Hassan Nasrallah
Nathan Wolfe
Oprah Winfrey
Sergio Marchionne
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Felisa Wolfe-Simon
Esther Duflo
Rain
Larry Page
Mia Wasikowska
David Cameron
John Lasseter
Maria Bashir
Mukesh Ambani
Chris Colfer
Major General Margaret Woodward
Bruno Mars
David and Charles Koch
Hung Huang
General David Petraeus
Matt Damon and Gary White
Cecile Richards
George R.R. Martin
Marine Le Pen
Grant Achatz
Feisal Abdul Rauf
El Général
Jamie Dimon
Heidi Murkoff
Sting
Jonathan Franzen
V.S. Ramachandran
Michelle Rhee
Mark Wahlberg
Rebecca Eaton
Xi Jinping
Kathy Giusti
Arianna Huffington
Barack Obama
Lionel Messi
Azim Premji
Aruna Roy
Ray Chambers
Scott Rudin
John Boehner
Derrick Rossi
Hu Shuli
Benjamin Netanyahu
Ayman Mohyeldin
Charles Chao
Bineta Diop
Dharma Master Cheng Yen
Patti Smith

 

[ladygodiva]

LOL. The Time 100, are defined as the most influential people in the world. They are artists and activists, reformers and researchers, heads of state and captains of industry. Their ideas spark dialogue and dissent and sometimes even revolution.

Well she certainly does that... Spark a lot of dialogue. So what is Blake then? An artist? Or captain of her industry? Sorry I shouldn't be mocking but I can't believe she's on that list alongside the likes of Hilary Clinton and Michelle Obama.

ETA : Just saw that Mark Walhberg, Justin Beiber, Bruno Mars and Chris Colfer are also on the list....

 

[Miss Dalloway]

This is a very good question. And my theory is this: in the past decade or so, fewer and fewer models have appeared solo on the cover of American Vogue. Instead, actresses, whom normal people (the bulk of the readers) relate to have landed the covers. Why? Because actresses are more well known than models, and a large part of the reason for this is that they are not always "perfect." Yes, I know that nobody is, but models are very tall, very thin, and very beautiful... the typical woman not just in America but all over the world cannot relate to models nearly as much as they can to actresses. Actresses have flaws and are less... seemingly perfect. Enter Blake Lively. She is tall and has an amazing figure and wears complete runway looks all the time, often the type of look that is featured in American Vogue. But she is an actress. She is cute and very all-American looking, and almost modelesque.

Of course, she is not the only actress like this, there are many who are tall and beautiful and probably a lot more talented than Blake. But her PR really pushed her, and these things combined are likely what landed her 2 covers.

When Blake appeared on the cover of Vogue for the first time, was she truly well known to the Vogue readers? I very much doubt that, actually that cover was one of the worst selling issues of the year. Yet it did not matter, because when Anna Wintour likes you, she REALLY likes you. No amount of good PRing can make Wintour like you, trust me, many a starlet has tried. The thing is, Lively has been very well mannered around Wintour from the time they meet, and Anna liked her. Then Ralph Lauren, told Wintour he loves Blake's "look", and so it went.

She has full support of Conde Nast, which is unlikely, and rare. Lively is no Chanel girl, but upon Wintours gentle recommendation, and introduction to Karl, he gave her the campaign. Its so incredibly bizarre, and ridiculous this endorsement she gets from them, because there is so many more deserving women out there. I dont even dislike Blake as much as some around here, but every time i see a cover, feature or a bit on her, i feel insulted by what they are trying to sell me. Her second cover, was the ultimate worst seller, even worse than the first one, so readers are recognizing how ridiculous Wintours adoration of her is. But to no avail, she will grace the cover again, i'm sure.

I mean Blake is just taking what is given to her, nothing wrong with that, imho there have been far worse obsession Anna had. Sienna Miller, is someone, who (in my books), was even less worthy than Lively of all the covers & support she was getting. While on Broadway, every critic on the planet ripped her apart, and US Vogue had the nerve to write a glowing report. And lets NOT forget she scored the cover as a total unknown, or right she was Jude Laws stylish fiance.

So no, its not just down to magic PR, its also how good you can k*s important peoples arses, and she sure is well versed, i give her respect for that., after all its part of the business.

 

[kobro22]

@Pavonine & @Ladygodiva & Miss Dalloway guys your comments are really spot on, commenters like you are the reason why I come here. You guys rock!

 

[Miss Dalloway]

^ Right back at cha, i appreciate that many members around here spot BS from a mile away, and don't just eat it up upon being served. To me its actually shocking when i see such ridiculous attempts from Hollywood being successful, not all of us (public) are gullible.

 

[Psylocke]

Well she certainly does that... Spark a lot of dialogue. So what is Blake then? An artist? Or captain of her industry? Sorry I shouldn't be mocking but I can't believe she's on that list alongside the likes of Hilary Clinton and Michelle Obama.

ETA : Just saw that Mark Walhberg, Justin Beiber, Bruno Mars and Chris Colfer are also on the list....

Some choices are definitely questionable but you can't deny that Bieber does have a cultural impact and is influential in a way. Same goes for Colfer. But what does Blake do? She doesn't have any influence on style, pop-culture, politics, etc. She doesn't inspire me as a person. If she at least did some humanitarian work (for example, all the actors and actresses on 90210 are amazing in supporting good causes) or anything to justify this but I can't think of a single reason why she should be on that list.


I totally agree with pavonine, too

 

[ladygodiva]

I don't know about Chris Colfer and his impact, maybe if I continued watching Glee or saw message board posts then I would say he is influential but I'll agree with you about the Biebs. I've realised that he is someone some young boys aspire to be and his fan girls are just ****ing crazy!

As for the humanitarian work, maybe Leo will influence her and tell her to be a better human being and treat the earth better so not to use so much hairspray on GG... You never know

And thank you @kobro22, it's just common sense to be able to spot the real deal from the bull**** and I love your posts too.

Also : I did not see this!

The PR Team is really just shoving them down our throats at this point. Giggling over ice cream...really?


The duo, first spotted looking cozy right after the Cannes Film Festival, haven't spent much time apart since then.

Before hopping on a boat ride Thursday, as pictured, they arrived in Venice the night before via private jet. A source confirms to PEOPLE that the stars are staying at the five-star Hotel Cipriani.

After setting sail for the day, Lively, 23, and DiCaprio, 36, cooled off with a frosty treat, an onlooker says, telling PEOPLE, "Their ice creams began to melt and dribble. They were giggling trying to lick the drips up."

After their icy date, the pair met up with Naomi Campbell and her beau Vladimir Doronin. As for Friday, the new duo has "spent all afternoon by the pool."

SERIOUSLY?! "their ice creams began to melt and dribble" so they started giggling?? OMG.
So whose publicist is giving People Magazine both their itineraries? This is a day by day account. Can't wait for next week's. Should be exciting, maybe they'll go for some spaghetti and they'll end up having the same one like Lady and the Tramp.

 

[TwentiesDream]

Wow that People report is just laughable are they kidding. Shocked jut shocked that Leo ia allowing himself to get used by her pr machine like this. Everything I percevied about Leo the serious actor just flew out the window.

Yeah wonder who the source is. Leo the Oscar nominated actor giigling over meltiong ice cream there is a great visual.
​

I agree with you 100%. There have been more blurbs about Leo's personal life on gossip sites in the past two weeks than there were in a year when he was with Bar. With Bar he might be seen somewhere, and then you wouldn't hear about them or see a picture together for months. He's always seemed to be into his career and not at all into having his personal life talked about!
Now I no longer think this... I think he's bored or something and is craving attention. And that is something that, until this whole Blake Lively fling started, I never ever thought I would say about Leo.

Leo and Blake could almost totally out of the public eye right now if they both wanted to be. But for some inexplicable reason, Leo is allowing Blake to use him shamelessly.

Maybe she's pregnant or something? I highly doubt that, but I just cannot see why these two would be seen together so often, so quickly.

 

[agee]

oh, I don't doubt that she can be pleasing or that those people actually took a liking to her after they got acquainted (who knows) - but you do realize, as you implied in your answer, that for things to even get to that level there was a lot of work to be done, and she and her team would have to actively seek out the opportunity. It's not a magical fairy tale thing where those invitations just happened to drop in the lap of this mostly unkown actress from a CW show and she had no choice but to agree - these are things she actively sought out, (and that ultimately didn't help her career in the way she originally intended - imo, of course).

To your second point, about going after media exposure to improve her career... that's one, quicker way of doing things, another would have been trying to improve her craft by going after low profile projects that gave her a chance to learn and improve away from the glare, and eventually get noticed for her talents and not for her presence in events/fashion pursuits. As it stands, she's a known actress, but not a respected one, and negative attention is bound to come with that combo.

At this stage in her career it is probably better to be known than respected, it takes a lot of money to produce a movie or television show and someone who can garner media coverage is of value, so a good publicist and stylist (which Blake reportedly does not have) may get you further than a good acting coach. I am not stating that an actor should not work on his/her craft, but if Blake's career has legs there is plenty of time for her to become a serious actor a la Julia Roberts, Halle Berry, Tom Hanks, Will Smith and even Cher. Note that I am not addressing liking or disliking Blake because that is a personal taste thing and everyone will have detractors, rather I am addressing the over-exposed aspect.

But for some inexplicable reason, Leo is allowing Blake to use him shamelessly.

Yes publicists tip off the paparazzi, but long before that came into play, the paps established a reputation for being relentless, so shenanigans are not required to get the paps interested in one of the biggest film stars in the world vacationing with his hot, new squeeze. My guess is that Leo probably does not care anymore, he probably (hopefully) cares enough that he won't gaze adoringly at Blake on the red carpet or jump on a couch, but I don't think that Leo is still fearful that he won't be taken seriously as an actor. Now the thought has crossed my mind that since he is now accepted as a serious actor, he may be laying the groundwork to re-capture some of the Leo-mania that he rejected years ago as the opening salvo in a campaign to get the one thing that has eluded him, an Oscar. I don't think that Leo would take up with Blake solely for that reason, but I can see this being a reason why he is not going out of the way to be on the down low.

 

[joujou]

Jumping in (god help me )... When it comes to the paparazzi, I don't think he has a much of a choice unless he wants to live a completely different lifestyle. An A-list actor, single, who likes to party, travel and hang out with pretty women is a natural paparazzi magnet.

Blake has a much higher profile than his last girlfriend, but Bar and Leo were followed too, especially early in their relationship after he had just broken up with Gisele.

I don't believe he wants the attention. He certainly doesn't need it. He's really in for it this time, but if he likes her what is he supposed to do? You can't let the paparazzi and gossip mags control your life to the point where you let them determine who you date.

 

[Lacroix]

When Blake appeared on the cover of Vogue for the first time, was she truly well known to the Vogue readers? I very much doubt that, actually that cover was one of the worst selling issues of the year. Yet it did not matter, because when Anna Wintour likes you, she REALLY likes you. No amount of good PRing can make Wintour like you, trust me, many a starlet has tried. The thing is, Lively has been very well mannered around Wintour from the time they meet, and Anna liked her. Then Ralph Lauren, told Wintour he loves Blake's "look", and so it went.

She has full support of Conde Nast, which is unlikely, and rare. Lively is no Chanel girl, but upon Wintours gentle recommendation, and introduction to Karl, he gave her the campaign. Its so incredibly bizarre, and ridiculous this endorsement she gets from them, because there is so many more deserving women out there. I dont even dislike Blake as much as some around here, but every time i see a cover, feature or a bit on her, i feel insulted by what they are trying to sell me. Her second cover, was the ultimate worst seller, even worse than the first one, so readers are recognizing how ridiculous Wintours adoration of her is. But to no avail, she will grace the cover again, i'm sure.

I mean Blake is just taking what is given to her, nothing wrong with that, imho there have been far worse obsession Anna had. Sienna Miller, is someone, who (in my books), was even less worthy than Lively of all the covers & support she was getting. While on Broadway, every critic on the planet ripped her apart, and US Vogue had the nerve to write a glowing report. And lets NOT forget she scored the cover as a total unknown, or right she was Jude Laws stylish fiance.

So no, its not just down to magic PR, its also how good you can k*s important peoples arses, and she sure is well versed, i give her respect for that., after all its part of the business.

I agree with you but with Sienna Miller it really wasn't a case of an unknown getting a cover or someone put there and being touted as a style icon and shoved down our throats because to look at it objectively whether you liked Sienna's style then or not, she was famous both for her relationship with Jude Law and her fashion. It’s weird to look back to a few years ago when people like Nicole Richie, Sienna and Mischa Barton were geuinley liked by the public on their own account (not by being told) for their style. Girls loved her style and emulated it and there was a genuine interest in her a style icon. I'm sure her covers on fashion magazines shifted quite a few numbers and that's why she landed covers without having much praise for her acting.

 

[advo]

Sienna was admired for her style even when she was just Jude's GF so it does makes sense for her to be on the cover of a fashion magazine. Blake's style is mocked and her acting skills are practically non-existent so she's fails on both being a style icon and an actress. Seeing as how none of her covers sold particularly well, it would seem like a lot of people agree with her critics.

Btw, apparently Blake will be making fun of the nude scandal at the MTV awards tomorrow... can't wait to see what she has to say about it since it's not her... you know

As for their relationship. I totally see Blake as the type whom would be okay with an open relationship (which she already has accepted if you believe the non PR-approved articles) in exchange for all the free publicity so I see this lasting. For a while anyway as I've been saying for the beginning.

 

[loladonna]

A lot of you are raising good points about the forcing of Blake the "style icon." In the past style icons evolved naturally. Someone mentioned Nicole Richie and Sienna Miller. It's true the public actually liked their style and that is why they got popular. Now it seems like PR teams are trying to force the title on any young actress. Blake Lively and Emma Watson are two people who come to mind as not being particularly fashionable yet through the power of PR, free designer clothes and Vogue they are being elevated to a level of fashion significance they haven't truly earned.

 

[dreamss]

Blake is now an artist? Shaking my head. She's doing a wonderful job at making ppl to look at her like a joke.
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[mechellemybell]

Blake has the body for clothes. Of course. But I've never seen anything "creative" from her. It just seems like she hunts out the newest stuff from "fashion icon" houses and wears them without much thought if the dress/whatever is truly her. I just wonder if she would care less about fashion if she hadn't been pushed by her PR people as this new ~~fashion icon~~ of the ages. Now if people had started noticing her fashion sense beforehand then I could get behind it. But she seems like she was a down to earth type of girl who liked to wear pretty things but didn't care about "high" fashion and now she's just thrown into the mix and fitted like she's some type of mannequin. I get no....eh?...this is corny: but inspiration from her. I just wish her PR people would chillax and let her be more herself because this image is not doing anything for her imho. Personally, I think a lot of actresses who are not as well known dress just as well as her. They might not have the options for stuff from some of the bigger fashion houses but Blake's stamp of FASHION ICON has been bothering me for a while now. Way before I even read up on all her crazy PR stuff.

 

[dreamss]

Blake is now an artist? Shaking my head. She's doing a wonderful job at making ppl to look at her like a joke.
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what i was trying to say is blake being mixed up in the same list with ppl who are really influencial is like oil and vinegar... She's the girl from GG who's being forced down our throats. It's amazing how she keeps toying with her career. I don't know what she's gonna do when she runs out of ideas like, denying nude pics which is undeniably her and was probably leaked by her ppl. I'm sure she's doing everything she can so leo won't leave her. She's really fame starved. I hope she doesn't end up like tara reid
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[ladygodiva]

From my post history, you can pretty much tell I'm not an avid fashion follower but I like fashion. I couldn't tell a Balenciaga bag from a Marc Jacobs one if you held them both up at me but I know the names of designers and such. I mean I even had to google Condé Nast, I didn't know who or what that was but even I rolled my eyes when I saw Blake get the Vogue covers. It didn't make sense to me, she's no style icon, she's not innovative, girls aren't rushing out to H+M or wherever to buy what they've seen on her (at least I don't).

I totally agree with all of you regarding your examples using Sienna Miller and Nicole Richie.

 

[starsid33]

http://youtu.be/L76bgX-wAt0

seems like she has always been a style icon...(sarcasm)
you know if she hadn't tweaked some parts of her body with surgery, i doubt chanel/leo/hollywood would be swooning all over her. but with that said, i can understand why ppl get their bodies retouched once they are in the entertainment industry.

 

[Lacroix]

that video...very typical teen but I couldn't help cringing at her room for one (ick, how Paris Hilton of her) and her style. Still, she was only seventeen!