Hollywood is a weird place. One day you’re the industry’s golden girl, and the next, a video from eight years ago turns you into public enemy number one. That’s basically what happened when Norwegian journalist Kjersti Flaa hit "publish" on a dusty archive clip featuring Blake Lively.
It wasn't just a bad interview. It was a social explosion.
The footage, filmed back in 2016 during the Café Society press junket, showed a side of Lively that didn't mesh with her carefully curated "cool girl" brand. By the time the clip went viral in late 2024, Lively was already dodging heat for her tone-deaf promotion of It Ends With Us. People were looking for a reason to stay mad. Flaa gave it to them.
The Interview That "Made Me Want to Quit"
Kjersti Flaa didn't hold back when she titled the video: "The Blake Lively interview that made me want to quit my job."
The setting was the Crosby Hotel in New York. Flaa sat down with Blake Lively and her co-star Parker Posey. To break the ice, Flaa started with a compliment. She congratulated Lively on her pregnancy—a "little bump"—which had just been made public.
Lively’s response? "Congrats on your little bump."
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She said it back to the journalist. The problem? Flaa wasn’t pregnant.
It was a sharp, sarcastic redirection that set a brutal tone for the rest of the four-minute sit-down. From there, things got even more awkward. When Flaa tried to pivot to the film’s 1930s-inspired fashion, Lively shut her down again. She wondered aloud if anyone would ask the men about their clothes, framing the question as sexist.
The two actresses then basically started talking to each other, completely icing Flaa out of the room. It’s painful to watch. You can see Flaa trying to maintain her professional composure while being treated like a ghost.
Why Release It Eight Years Later?
Critics and "Team Blake" supporters immediately smelled a rat. Why now? Was this a coordinated hit job to help Justin Baldoni in his alleged feud with Lively?
Flaa has been pretty transparent about the timing. Honestly, she says it was a coincidence. She claims she was talking to another reporter who had experienced a similar "mean girl" encounter with a celebrity. That conversation reminded her of the Café Society nightmare.
She had sat on the footage for nearly a decade because she feared being blacklisted. In the world of entertainment reporting, publicists like Leslie Sloane hold a lot of power. If you make a star look bad, you might never get into another junket.
By 2024, Flaa felt she had less to lose. She was transitioning away from the traditional Hollywood grind and felt it was finally time to call out the behavior. She's since stated that she wasn't even aware of the It Ends With Us drama when she first uploaded the clip.
Whether you believe that or not, the impact was undeniable.
The Legal Aftermath and the "Smear Campaign" Labels
As the situation spiraled, the drama moved from YouTube comments to actual legal documents. In late 2024 and throughout 2025, the fallout became a messy tangle of subpoenas and lawsuits.
Lively’s legal team began seeking metadata and private communications from various content creators, including Flaa. They were looking for evidence of a "coordinated smear campaign" involving Justin Baldoni’s PR team.
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Flaa has vehemently denied any connection to Baldoni. She described the subpoenas as a "fishing expedition" and an attack on press freedom.
"I didn't editorialize or slander Lively in the video... I chose the title because of how the experience genuinely made me feel."
This highlights a growing tension in 2026: the battle between powerful A-list celebrities and independent media figures who no longer feel the need to play by the old Hollywood rules of "protection."
What Most People Get Wrong About the Feud
There is a narrative that Flaa was being "too familiar" or "unprofessional" by mentioning the pregnancy.
In reality, junket interviews are often designed for light, personable chatter. Lively had publicly announced the pregnancy just weeks prior. In the context of a 2016 interview, a congratulatory remark was standard practice, not an invasion of privacy.
The "sexism" defense regarding the costume question also felt forced to many viewers. Café Society was a period piece where the wardrobe was a central part of the film's identity. Asking an actress about the costumes in a Woody Allen period drama isn't a slight against her intellect; it's a standard production question.
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Lessons from the Fallout
If there’s anything to take away from the Kjersti Flaa and Blake Lively saga, it’s that the internet has a long memory and very little patience for perceived elitism.
- Authenticity is a double-edged sword. Lively's "relatable" persona made the coldness of the 2016 clip feel like a betrayal to fans.
- The Power Dynamics are Shifting. Traditional publicists can no longer bury "bad" footage. Once it's on a private YouTube channel or TikTok, the studio can't make it disappear.
- Context is Everything. The video went viral because it confirmed a "vibe" people were already feeling during the 2024 press tour. If Lively hadn't been under fire for other things, the Flaa interview might have just been a forgotten "awkward moment" clip.
Moving forward, the best way to understand this situation is to look at it as a clash of eras. We are seeing the end of the "protected star" era and the beginning of a time when journalists—even independent ones—are willing to trade their access for the truth of their experience.
If you're following the legal updates, pay attention to the rulings on those subpoenas. They will likely set the precedent for how much "behind the scenes" data celebrities can demand from the people who cover them.
Check your sources before siding with either the "PR smear" or "mean girl" narratives. Often, the reality is just a series of bad choices meeting a very specific, very angry cultural moment.
Actionable Insights for Navigating Celebrity Culture in 2026:
- Watch the full clip: Don't rely on 10-second TikTok crops. Seeing the full four minutes of the Flaa/Lively interview provides the necessary context of the "costume" question and the "bump" comment.
- Monitor the Subpoena Outcomes: The legal battle between Lively’s team and independent creators will define the future of "Press Freedom" for digital journalists.
- Recognize "Crisis Management" Tactics: Be aware when you see "sources close to the star" suddenly releasing stories that mirror or deflect from current controversies.
The story isn't just about a "rude" comment anymore; it's about who gets to control the narrative in the age of the viral archive.