Peloton
After her work for Peloton became a talking point for half of America, the actress who portrayed the wife in the now infamous commercial, Monica Ruiz, has issued a statement about the ad, as well as commenting on her quick followup acting gig for Ryan Reynolds’ Aviation Gin.
In a a statement through her talent agency, LA Talent, Ruiz said about her newfound viral fame, “I was happy to accept a job opportunity earlier this year from Peloton and the team was lovely to work with. Although I’m an actress, I am not quite comfortable being in spotlight and I’m terrible on social media. So to say I was shocked and overwhelmed by the attention this week (especially the negative) is an understatement.
“When Ryan and his production team called about Aviation Gin, they helped me find some humor in the situation. I am grateful to both Peloton and now Aviation Gin for the work and giving me the opportunity to do what I love to do.”
She calls him Ryan because they’re tight like that now.
The actor who played the husband in the commercial, Sean Hunter, had already made an appearance on Good Morning America to express his fears about his acting career being affected by all of the backlash he has received.
“People turned down a pretty dark path and it turned into a nasty thing,” said Hunter. “Once something goes viral, and it turns viral, people jump on that negative bandwagon and start to create any dialogue they want.”
Now, following their appearance in the Aviation Gin commercial, Ruiz and her co-stars Mercedes Yvette and Mandell Maughan, appear to be having some fun with their new noteriety, each posting the video on their Instagram accounts.
Here’s what we know about the women who portrayed Ruiz’s support system in the Aviation ad.
Mercedes Yvette Scelba-Shorte, who goes by just Mercedes Yvette professionally, was the runner-up on Cycle 2 of America’s Next Top Model which aired in 2004.
She has also been a spokesperson for the Lupus Foundation of America and acted on TV shows like One on One, All of Us, and The Bold and the Beautiful.
Mercedes Yvette has also modeled for brands such as Kohl’s, Old Navy, Walmart, Target and Macy’s, and appeared in commercials for Chili’s, Hewlett Packard, AT&T, and Chevy.
Mandell Maughan has acted on TV shows like Me, Myself & I, Black-ish, and House of Lies, and appeared in the Netflix film Between Two Ferns: The Movie.