The donut shop where Blake Lively recently worked has been under scrutiny for health and safety issues, bringing the Gossip Girl actress into another controversy.
Lively, 37, recently joined other celebrities who have taken on temporary roles in the hospitality industry. This trend includes instances like ‘Video Games’ singer Lana Del Rey working at an Alabama café in 2023 and Sabrina Carpenter’s stint at Blank Street Coffee.
Lively’s recent shift was at a small donut shop in Connecticut owned by a friend, which has since been cleared of any health code violations.
During her time at Rise Doughnuts, the actress was involved in dough mixing and serving pastries to customers.
“Baking with genius food friends and their kitchen mixer the size of a car,” she posted on Instagram. “This is what my happy place looks like.”
Another post showed Lively without a hairnet or her hair tied back while handling baked goods.
The controversy arises from Lively’s decision to leave her hair untied, which led to a backlash and negative reviews on Yelp, as reported by TMZ.
This prompted an investigation by the Wilton Health Department into unsanitary practices at the establishment, owned by Hugh Mangum and Laura Malon.
The Daily Mail reported an ‘anonymous’ complaint regarding Lively working without proper hair protection. However, after the investigation, the owners faced no fines from the complaints against Lively.
UNILAD has reached out to the Wilton Health Department for further comments.
Lively’s donut-related incident follows another controversy involving a fan who claimed she reacted negatively to being filmed in a Texas hotel lobby.
During a stay at Hotel 1928, Lively allegedly confronted a person she suspected of recording her.
Kaityln Cooper from Houston recounted to the Daily Mail: “We were loading up our car and I heard, ‘Hi’, and it was a woman’s voice. I looked up, and see [Lively]. She’s got her phone up [as if she was recording me]. Out of instinct, I just said ‘Hi’ back, because what do you say?”
Cooper claimed that Lively circled their car as if she was recording her in return.
UNILAD has reached out to Blake Lively’s representatives and Hotel 1928 for comments.
This hotel incident coincides with Lively’s lawsuit against Justin Baldoni, director of It Ends with Us.
She has accused Baldoni, 41, of sexual harassment and launching a smear campaign, while Baldoni has countersued for civil extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy.
Baldoni is also suing Lively’s husband Ryan Reynolds, along with their publicist Leslie Sloane and her PR firm, Vision PR.
The court date for the actors is set for March 9, 2026, in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.