Blake Lively ‘mortified’ after making Kate Middleton joke

Blake Lively has issued an apology following a Kate Middleton joke that left her feeling "mortified" given the princess' recent cancer announcement.

In the now-deleted post from earlier this week, the actress took to Instagram to promote her drink range.

"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," she wrote.

In the wake of Middleton's announcement on Friday (22 March), Lively returned to the platform to apologise about the "silly post".

"I'm sure no-one cares today but I feel I have to acknowledge this," she wrote in a statement. "I made a silly post around the 'photoshop fails' frenzy and, oh, man, that post has me mortified today."

"Sending love and well wishes to all, always," Lively signed off with a heart emoji.

Blake Lively/Instagram

Lively's apology has since garnered a mixed response online, with one X/Twitter user hitting back: "What kind of half-ass apology is this Blake Lively? Anyway get better Kate, I’m rooting for you."

Another quipped: "I'm officially done with celebrities. They are trash. Stephen Colbert, Blake Lively, Andy Cohen, Kim Kardashian & numerous other people should’ve kept their mouths shut. But everyone was making fun of the Princess and using her name for clout."

Meanwhile, others backed the actress' decision to apologise.

"Have never thought of you as a bad person and was shocked with your post," one wrote. "So thanking you for doing the right thing. In life we live, learn and grown."

"Wow, the abuse Blake Lively is getting on here tonight is absolutely ridiculous," another noted. "All because she made a joke about the Princess Kate photo editing days BEFORE today’s announcement. That makes her ‘a vile bully’ apparently in the Court of Twitter. Grow up."

Princess Kate has since been inundated with support and well-wishes after revealing she is undergoing treatment for cancer.

In an emotional video statement, Kate opened up about the "huge shock" when tests identified cancer following her abdominal surgery in January. She described the past few months as "incredibly tough".

The form of cancer has not been disclosed but the princess started a course of "preventative chemotherapy" late in February, and is said to have a positive mindset for her recovery and is in good spirits, describing herself as "well and getting stronger every day."

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