Peloton commercial actress says ‘my face was the problem’ on controversy

The embattled actress who played the wife in the Peloton holiday commercial blames the controversy on her ‘scared’ eyebrows and says she’s shocked the fury didn’t ‘blow over as quickly as I thought it would’. 

Monica Ruiz suddenly shot to fame after the ad she starred in came under fire on social media where critics slammed the commercial as misogynistic and sexist, leading the company to lose millions of dollars and its stock to drop nearly 10 percent just days after the backlash. 

When asked just what sparked the furor, she said with a laugh, ‘Honestly, I think it was just my face.’ 

‘My eyebrows looked worried I guess. People were like, “You look scared.” I’m telling you, it was my face, that was the problem, and it just exploded it from there. She looks worried,’ Ruiz said on the Today show Thursday. 

Peloton wife actress Monica Ruiz says the commercial sparked fury online because of her distressed expression in the holiday ad

'My eyebrows looked worried I guess. People were like, "You look scared." I'm telling you, it was my face, that was the problem,' she said on the Today show

‘My eyebrows looked worried I guess. People were like, “You look scared.” I’m telling you, it was my face, that was the problem,’ she said on the Today show

In the commercial Ruiz plays a slender wife who is gifted a $2,000 Peloton stationary bike by her husband for Christmas and vlogs her fitness journey over the course of the year. At the end compiles those clips into a thank you video for her husband.  

‘It’s crazy to see my face everywhere this much and see everyone talking about it,’ Ruiz said to Today host Hoda Kotb. 

Ruiz said she was surprised with the heated backlash because for the first few weeks, no one seemed to notice the ad but her family and friends. 

‘I kept feeling like there was two camps. Some people thought it was a really big deal and some people thought it wasn’t a really big deal,’ Ruiz said. 

‘So I thought maybe I should just wait for it to blow over…When it didn’t blow over and people started answering for me…I was like okay. I’ll just let everyone know I’m fine. I’m not in a rehab for mental health anywhere’ she added, explaining her reason for coming on the show. 

Despite the massive backlash, the commercial caught the eye of actor Ryan Reynolds and he immediately contacted her for a role in a commercial for his company Aviation Gin.  

Despite the massive backlash, the commercial caught the eye of actor Ryan Reynolds and landed her a role in a commercial for his company Aviation Gin

Despite the massive backlash, the commercial caught the eye of actor Ryan Reynolds and landed her a role in a commercial for his company Aviation Gin

'I feel like I'm in an alternate universe right now,' Ruiz, a mother-of-two, said on the show

‘I feel like I’m in an alternate universe right now,’ Ruiz, a mother-of-two, said on the show

The commercial plays as a follow up to the Peloton ad and features Ruiz sipping Reynolds’ gin to cope with the controversy. 

In the ad she toasts to ‘new beginnings’. Reynolds tweeted the ad cheekily saying, ‘Exercise bike not included.’ 

On the Today show she officially met Reynolds for the first time, who explained how he wanted to create the commercial to play on the Peloton crisis. 

‘I feel like I’m in an alternate universe right now. This is so weird!’ Ruiz, a mother-of-two, gushed on the show as she laughed next to the Deadpool star. 

Reynolds explained the backstory to that humorous Aviation Gin ad that was filmed in just 36 hours to keep it timely.

‘It started with a text to my creative partner. He sent me the ad and I go “oh wow, I see why there’s some backlash. Can we send her a year’s supply of gin?”‘ Reynolds said. 

‘And that sort of evolved from there. We love acknowledging and playing off of the cultural landscape and we thought this was a grand opportunity to do something.

‘We had this thought that we could do this ad without contributing to that divide, without vilifying anybody, just sort of commenting on this person, and the actress and the ad all at once. For us it was a no brainer,’ he added. 

As for Ruiz, she hopes that she won’t be branded ‘Peloton wife’ forever and can still land other roles.  

‘I hope people can see me as an actress. I like to do movies and TV, and I’m not actuality the Peloton lady, (so) let me work other jobs,’ she said.   

Hunter praised his co-star Monica Ruiz for her latest gig, starring in an advertisement for Ryan Reynolds' Aviation Gin, which played off her role in the controversial Peloton ad

Hunter praised his co-star Monica Ruiz for her latest gig, starring in an advertisement for Ryan Reynolds’ Aviation Gin, which played off her role in the controversial Peloton ad

Peloton said in a statement it was ‘disappointed’ its holiday commercial was ‘misinterpreted.’

‘We constantly hear from our members how their lives have been meaningfully and positively impacted after purchasing or being gifted a Peloton Bike or Tread, often in ways that surprise them,’ a company spokesperson said. 

‘Our holiday spot was created to celebrate that fitness and wellness journey. 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,’ it added. 



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