All the Peloton backlash helped the woman at the center of the controversial ad, Monica Ruiz, land her next gig, and she’s working for Ryan Reynolds now.
In a tongue-in-cheek advertisement for his real product Aviation Gin, Reynolds is clearly reacting to the content of the Peloton ad that got social media riled up over this past week. In that ad, a husband gets his wife an exercise bike for Christmas and she spends the next year chronicling her fitness journey.
Critics of the ad thought it was a misogynistic statement about the husband wanting his wife to be thin — noting also that she was already incredibly fit — while Peloton ultimatley decided to stand by the ad and not give in to online pressure.
“While we’re disappointed in how some have misinterpreted this commercial, we are encouraged by–and grateful for–the outpouring of support we’ve received from those who understand what we were trying to communicate,” Peloton said via a spokesperson, per Inc.
That response only heightened the online vitriol, which made it perfect bait for Reynolds to jump into the fray with a statement of his own, and he did so in the absolute best way possible … by hiring the Peloton woman herself.
Without directly referencing the controversial ad at all, Reynolds’ ad simply focuses on the women on a night out with two of her girlfriends. She essentially spends the ad staring wistfully into the camera because clearly she’s been through a thing that is weighing on her.
If viewers thought she looked scared in the original Peloton ad, the actress takes it to a whole new level here, and her friends were beyond supportive to her. “You’re safe here,” one tells her after she remarks how smooth the gin is and the other offers to get her another one.
The best part comes when the women take a sip of their drinks only for the Peloton woman to down hers in one gulp. And then, for the final kicker, after the camera has cut you can hear one of the women tell her, “You look great, by the way!”
Clearly, this was a nod to the year of grueling workouts she endured via Peloton so she could craft her already honed body into a … still honed body?
“Exercise bike not included,” Reynolds captured his video clip on his social media, just in case anyone didn’t get the references. Don’t worry, Ryan. We definitely got them.
You can check out the original ad, which Peloton stands behind, below:
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