Five days ago, a journalist publicly called out Blake Lively for an interview that she claims was the “most uncomfortable interview ever.” Reporter Kjersti Flaa shared her “nightmare” interview that forced her to quit her job, and the clip inevitably attracted a huge number of people and went viral, especially since the Gossip Girl actress is at the center of a disastrous movie promotion for her latest film, It Ends With Us.
Further questioning in the caption whether it’s “not okay to congratulate someone on being pregnant or ask another woman about the outfit she’s wearing in a movie,” Flay hit the publish button on YouTube and garnered a lot of attention online. The interview, which took place in 2016 while Lively was promoting the Woody Allen-directed Café Society, has resurfaced at a time when the Gossip Girl star is facing criticism and accusations of glamorizing a “tone deaf” promotional schedule for a film that centers the serious topic of domestic violence.
Both Lively and the original book’s author Colleen Hoover have faced harsh criticism for portraying the film as a romantic saga and shying away from talking about its more serious aspects. Meanwhile, the film’s marketing has also garnered more attention than the film itself, as an apparent feud is brewing between Lively and her co-star Justin Baldoni, who also directed It Ends With Us.
What is the new controversy about?
While a large number of fans were initially #TeamBlake, an army of netizens soon jumped on board her hate campaign, with this and other recent interviews from 2016 resurfacing in which Lively appeared to downplay the seriousness of the conversation about it. However, a new development has seen someone close to her come to her defence.
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As comments such as “I never thought I would dislike Blake Lively” gain new momentum on social media, a source close to the actress has refuted all claims that Lively and her then-co-star Parker Posey ignored Kjersti Flaa during a 2016 interview.
The resurfaced clip shows Flaya congratulating Blake on his “little belly” as the interview was filmed while the Cafe Society actress was pregnant with her and Ryan Reynolds’ daughter Inez. She immediately responds to Flaya’s comment, “Congratulations on your little belly.”
Posey also joked about her “bump,” as the conversation soon narrowed to one side of the camera and Parker and Blake turned the whole thing into a one-on-one conversation between each other about “beautiful lady lumps.” After their side chat, Posey turned the focus back to the film and asked the reporter, “Do you like the movie or are you a Woody Allen fan?”
While discussing the “visually amazing” aspect of the film, Flaa asked her next question in the conversation: “Did you guys like wearing those clothes?”
“Everybody wants to talk about the clothes, but I wonder if they would ask the men about the clothes,” Lively replied to Flaya, who then replied, “I would ask.” Without looking at Flaya, Lively focused her gaze on her co-star and continued talking about the topic. “It’s not just that women have clothes, but I think women have a right to talk.”
Source close to Blake Lively defends her amid criticism over interview
A source close to the actress recently told PEOPLE that although they haven’t spoken to her about the 2016 interview, they agree with her response. They said, “You’re a female journalist in Hollywood interviewing a working mom, and you can’t think of anything better to start the interview with than, ‘Congratulations on your little belly?’ Of course Blake was offended.”
Calling it a “rude statement,” the source added, “She’s having a baby… If you feel the need to acknowledge that she’s pregnant, at least do so respectfully.”
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While many people clearly responded warmly to Flay, as indicated by his Instagram Story on Wednesday, which read: “Thank you to all the amazing people who sent me so many messages with support after posting this interview. I’m truly overwhelmed,” some also questioned why such an old interview was being brought up now.
Although many people on the internet are still supporting the actress, many others do not agree with her marketing campaign style for the film. However, the issue escalated when Blake and Ryan’s controversial wedding venue was mentioned again on social media. The couple held their lavish wedding and reception in 2012 at Boone Hall Plantation in South Carolina, which has its own slave-keeping past. Reynolds later apologized for being “impossible to compromise.”
“At that time, we saw a wedding site on Pinterest. What we saw next was a site based on a devastating tragedy,” he said in an interview.
Blake Lively drew criticism for another recent interview
The buzz about the 2016 interview was still ongoing, but another conversation took center stage. Along with her It Ends With Us costar Brandon Sklenar, Lively had a conversation with Emmy-winning reporter Jake Hamilton that left fans “very upset.”
In the video, Hamilton highlights how people who are connected to her It Ends With Us character’s storyline can talk to her if they see her in person. Nevertheless, Lively immediately took a different route to answer the serious question, which clearly didn’t go down well with many netizens.
“People who see this film and connect with the subjects of this film on a personal level will really want to talk to you,” Hamilton said.
“This film will impact people and they will want to tell you about their lives.
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“So if someone understands the subject of this film and comes to you publicly and they really want to talk to you, what is the best way for them to talk to you about this? What advice would you give them about this?”
Instead of answering the question, Blake jokingly said, “Ask for my address or my phone number.”
“Or I can share my location with you and then we’ll…”
Although she went silent after that, she deeply understood the heavy implications of people being part of a toxic relationship. “The story is told with such empathy that I think this film can be healing,” she ultimately said.
“It can be a cautionary tale and it can be inspirational. The film and Colleen’s work does that.”
“If someone ever comes up to you and says that your work means something to them beyond just a collective experience in the theatre where you laugh, cry and feel together, what a blessing that is. The fact that we get a chance to do this and have it mean something is important,” he said.
However, the damage was already done. An ex shared the interaction online with the caption, “A huge disappointment. Finally getting to know that Blake Lively is a person and this is ugly. She might as well have said not to approach or talk to him. Brandon looks very uncomfortable.”
Someone else commented on the post, “Blake Lively truly embodied her role as Gossip Girl and never moved on. The way she acts like a girl but remains silent on the plight of women (the focus of her movie) in unfortunate circumstances.”
Meanwhile, some others reminisced about their wedding being held at an old plantation.
“I’m shocked at how he turned a deep, personal, serious question into a joke,” a third person wrote.
In contrast, some others defended her for setting “clear boundaries,” as users also pointed out that she was neither a therapist nor “your friend” to have such a personal conversation with directly.
