Vox’s Liz Plank Says People are ‘Projecting’ Themselves on Peloton Ad: ‘Resting Panic Face’

Vox Media host and author Liz Plank appeared on MSNBC to talk about Peloton’s infamous holiday ad that has now resulted in a response from actor Ryan Reynolds’ gin brand.

“I know I already have a lot of enemies. I thought the ad was fine. I didn’t have that much of a problem to it. Maybe because I heard about the backlash before I saw the ad. When someone shows you the meme and you expect it to be so funny. It’s all right. I think we’re projecting a lot of things on the ad,” Plank told anchor Kendis Gibson and author Brittany Cooper on MSNBC Live Saturday.

Following an ad from Peloton about a woman documenting her journey riding a Peloton bike generated much mockery online, Reynolds’ Aviation Gin came up with a response ad featuring the same actress and alluding to her seemingly uncomfortable situation from the first ad.

“The new ad is fun. That’s exactly where I would be, at the bar. Because the pressure on women to be perfect, to be thin, to meet the societal ideal, I think that’s worthy of critique. I’m sorry Peloton is going to be the straw man in the argument. But I think exercise culture more broadly needs to be critiqued,” Cooper noted.

Plank also noted that many women have “resting panic face” like what was displayed in the ad.

“The backlash by the way, sent the stock tumbling,” Gibson noted to add some real-world context to the structural critiques.

“I think the Ryan Reynolds response was worth the backlash,” Plank joked.

Watch above, via MSNBC.