Ryan Reynolds was sympathetic to the viral Peloton ad, but not for the reason you might think. While the internet argued over whether or not the holiday commercial for the exercise bike was sexist, all the 6 Underground star could think about was Monica Ruiz, the poor actress from the commercial unwittingly in the center of the debate. As an actor, he knew how hard it could be when things you appear in don't get well received, so he put her in his own commercial for Aviator Gin that riffed on the whole brouhaha — but it wasn't easy.
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“I really wish someone from a gin company had called me right after Green Lantern," Reynolds said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, adding, “Nobody knew how to get ahold of her. Obviously, the people at Peloton didn’t want us to get ahold of her.”
But they managed it, and within 36 hours, "The Gift That Doesn't Give Back" was born.
"She's amazing, super funny," Reynolds said of Ruiz, who appears in the Aviator ad as herself, at a bar with friends after accidentally going viral. When presented with the gin, she downs the whole thing, and her friends give her another.
Originally, Reynolds said in an earlier interview with Today, he just wanted to send Ruiz a lifetime supply of the product, but instead the idea evolved into this meta commercial that, hopefully, earned her the $$$ to buy that lifetime supply herself. Or, maybe, a Peloton bike — but if there's anything Ruiz deserves to get for free after all this, it's that.