As you may have heard by now, Ryan Reynolds has done very well for himself with the sale of his Aviation Gin brand.
Acquired by alcohol giant Diageo alongside Davos Brand for a cool US$610 million (AU$845 million), there’s a considerable bit of cash coming the second highest-paid actor of 2020‘s way.
But what you might not have heard is how Reynolds decided to take a comedic victory lap. Ever the good-natured larrikin, he set up a tongue-in-check auto-reply for his inbox. Check it out below…
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“Thanks for your email. I am currently out of the office but will still be very hard at work selling Aviation Gin. For quite a long time, it seems.
In related news, I just learned what an “earn out” is… And I’d like to take this opportunity to apologise to everyone I told to go fuck themselves in the last 24 hours. My lawyers just explained how long it takes to achieve an “earn out”… so… turns out I’m not as George Clooney as I thought. The point is, to those listed below, I’m sorry… and I’ll indeed be needing your help in the coming months and years. Thanks in advance!
Mom, Blake, Peter, Diageo CEO, The Rock, George Clooney, Southern Glazer’s, Betty White, TGI Friday’s, Baxter, Calisthenics, AMC Theaters, Total Wine, The Number 8, Don Saladino, Darden, The Head of Alfredo Garcia, Soothing Lavender Eye Pillows.”
This wouldn’t be the first time Diageo delivered a monster payday for an actor/brand owner. In 2017, they were the very company that acquired George Clooney’s Casamigos tequila brand for US$1 billion. Clooney, of course, has been living it up ever since – bringing home US$325 million in the 2017/18 financial year without having to star in a single film.
So just how much will Ryan Reynolds receive for his slice of Aviation Gin? An exact figure has yet to be attached, given the value of his ownership stake purchased circa 2018 has never been publicly disclosed. Our guess? It’ll be enough to take care of the old groceries and water bill, that’s for sure.
