Blake Lively interviewer breaks silence over involvement in Justin Baldoni’s alleged smear campaign
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Norwegian reporter Kjersti Flaa, who went viral in August for her interview with Blake Lively, has denied any involvement in Justin Baldoni’s alleged smear campaign against his 'It Ends with Us' co-star.
Flaa, 51, sat down with Lively and her then-co star, Parker Posey, in 2016, and opened the conversation by congratulating the then-28-year-old Lively on her "little bump".
Lively, who had just announced her second pregnancy with husband Ryan Reynolds, sarcastically responded, "Congrats on your little bump."
The interview faded into relative obscurity but became viral in August 2024, when Flaa uploaded it to her YouTube after eight years with the title 'The Blake Lively interview that made me want to quit my job', according to Daily Mail.
Kjersti Flaa breaks silence over involvement in alleged smear campaign against Blake Lively
As Blake Lively's lawsuit against Justin Baldoni came to light, The New York Times published a story revealing private texts between Baldoni, publicist Jennifer Abel, and crisis management expert Melissa Nathan.
The messages detailed an alleged smear campaign created to "bury" Lively, the outlet reported. It also noted Flaa's 2016 interview with Lively. It’s "impossible to know how much of the negative publicity was seeded" and how much was simply "noticed and amplified", the news outlet reported.
However, Flaa spoke out and denied having anything to do with Baldoni and his alleged smear campaign against Lively. She said in a video uploaded to Threads, "I have to say something because now things are starting to snowball and people start thinking that I had anything to do with the smear campaign against Blake Lively that was orchestrated allegedly by Justin Baldoni and his team."
View on Threads
She continued, "I also read the article in The New York Times this morning, I’ve been reading through the lawsuit, and I see there’s been a lot of dirty work going on behind the scenes, and I just wanted to say that I have nothing to do with it."
The reporter added, "When I read the text messages that [were] going back and forth between Justin Baldoni’s PR team, I was as shocked and appalled like everyone else, and I would never take part in anything like that. That’s such an insult to me."
Kjersti Flaa says she would 'never take money' to jeopardize her integrity
Kjersti Flaa addressed the situation further in a new YouTube video and said that she would "never take money to jeopardize my integrity as a journalist".
She said, "Some people have started these conspiracies that I am connected to the PR campaign against Blake Lively; that is not true."
The journalist explained, "I see how people are trying to make a connection here that I’ve been working with Justin Baldoni’s PR company because it’s just too much of a coincidence that my video was posted at that time. As I’ve said before, I posted the video after I had seen the movie."
She continued, "I had a bad experience with Blake Lively, and at that time I was like ‘I’ve kind of had enough of Hollywood’ ... so I decided to post the video."
Drama surrounding Blake Lively's lawsuit against Justin Baldoni
The lawsuit by Blake Lively, which centers on alleged misconduct by Justin Baldoni during the filming of 'It Ends with Us', has brought tensions between both stars into the spotlight.
The lawsuit follows months of speculation of some behind-the-scenes drama between Lively and Baldoni on 'It Ends with Us'. The 'Gossip Girl' star accused Baldoni of fostering a toxic workplace during the production of their movie.
Notably, TMZ reported that Lively claimed the situation became so hostile that an all-hands-on-deck meeting was held. Ryan Reynolds reportedly attended the meeting along with others to address the concerns.
The lawsuit detailed allegations that Baldoni made inappropriate remarks, including comments about Lively's weight and late father.
Lively also claimed that he made disparaging comments about the cast and crew, besides other serious allegations.
Lively had reportedly requested in the meeting that there be "no more adding" of explicit scenes "beyond the scope of what was approved in the original script when she signed on to the project", according to the court filings.
