Blake Lively Causes A Small Donut Shop To Face Investigation Over Alleged Health Code Violations

Actress Blake Lively may have been attempting to step away from the drama caused by her “It Ends With Us” lawsuit, but it appears that the backlash was quick to follow her.

The small donut shop that she visited in Wilton, CT, earlier this week, is now facing an investigation and possible fines due to the “Gossip Girl” alum working behind the counter.

In her Instagram Stories, “The Shallows” actress shared a photo of her working at a mixer and putting treats out for the customers. “Baking with genius food friends and their kitchen mixer the size of a car,” she wrote over the photo. “This is what my happy place looks like.”

The problem? Lively’s long blonde hair can be seen dangling over the food that she was serving to customers, which presents a health risk. She did not tie her hair back out of her face, or even put on a hairnet or hat, which means that a strand of hair could have fallen in the mixer and ended up in the food.

Many social media users took to Yelp and other platforms in order to complain about the health risks posed by Lively’s hair and threatened to reach out to the health department to look into it. It turns out they did, as a spokesperson for the Wilton Health Department told TMZ that they have received numerous complaints and that the donut shop is now under investigation.

While food safety standards vary by state, The Blast learned that the restaurant can face fines or other health code violations for not wearing hair restraints, like hairnets or hats, to prevent hair from contaminating the food. Generally, all food employees who prepare, serve, or handle food or utensils must wear hair restraints; however, there are exceptions for counter staff who only serve beverages and wrapped foods. This does not apply to Lively, who was leaning over a tray of freshly baked pastries.

The company is now being monitored by Yelp due to a series of 1-star reviews. A warning at the top of the page reads, “This business is being monitored by Yelp's Support team for content related to media reports.”

An additional pop-up message warns, “This business recently received increased public attention, which often means people come to this page to post their views on the news. While we don’t take a stand one way or the other when it comes to this incident, we’ve temporarily disabled the posting of content to this page as we work to investigate whether the content you see here reflects actual consumer experiences rather than the recent events.”

“Please note that we apply this same policy regardless of the business and regardless of the topic at issue,” the message continues. “If you’re here to leave a review based on a first-hand experience with the business, please check back at a later date.”

Many customers are now questioning the sanitary measures of the business if they allowed Lively to work without a hair net, especially since another woman can be seen standing in the kitchen who is also not wearing any hair restraints.

“Is it the practice at this doughnut shop to allow employees handling the food to wear their hair loose & hang a few inches above a tray of doughnuts? Why don't your employees have to wear hairnets?” one user asked. “This does not seem sanitary.”

Several users have also questioned photos that have been shared on Instagram that show workers around the equipment without hair restraints.

Another user gave the business a big thumbs-up, writing, “DON'T LISTEN TO RECENT 1 STAR REVIEWS - a bunch of internet trolls are upset that Blake Lively was ‘baker for a day’ at this Wilton locally owned donut shop! These people do NOT live in the area and have never stepped foot inside of Rise.”

“As an avid customer, I can confirm that Rise donuts are the best around!! The flavors are so unique and the donuts are well made!!” they continued. “The staff is incredibly friendly, make you feel so welcome the moment you open the door, and the owners are always willing to support local school and sports fundraisers.”

Although it’s clear that the bakery’s loyal customers aren’t swayed by the negative media attention, it still remains to be seen what kind of fines or other health code violations the bakery might face.