We have all seen Kjersti Flaa’s interview with Blake Lively during the promotions of It Ends with Us, and we all have opinions on it. However, in stark contrast, the Norwegian reporter’s sweet moment with Jennifer Aniston has all our hearts.
A post shared by KJERSTI FLAA (@kjersti_flaa)
Very respectfully, Aniston tries to learn how to pronounce her first name, which is usually tough for a lot of people. As Flaa stated in her caption, this was her first celebrity interview on camera when she “was fresh in New York“.
Flaa added that the little interaction with Aniston made her day, and for someone who was just trying to find her place in the fast-paced industry, the actress’ kindness probably acted like a soothing balm.
Needless to say, fans were quick to point out the difference between this moment and Lively’s infamous interview with the reporter, which apparently made Flaa want to quit her job.
A user wrote, “The difference between a confident and proven genuine talented star and an insecure mean girl“, while others echoed the statement.
Blake Lively Received Intense Backlash for Her Interview With Kjersti Flaa
Talking about the interview with Blake Lively, Flaa posted the 4-minute-17-second clip on her YouTube channel, titling the video, “The Blake Lively interview that made me want to quit my job.“
The video starts with Flaa congratulating Lively on her baby bump, as she was pregnant with her fourth child, Olin, at the time. Instead of accepting the compliment, the actress replied with sarcasm, stating,
Congrats on your little bump
making the atmosphere a little uncomfortable.
Not much later, Flaa asked Lively, “This [movie] was so…visually amazing…did you guys love wearing those kinds of clothes?
Everyone wants to talk about the clothes, but I wonder if they would ask the men about the clothes?
You can watch the entire interview below:
Now, Lively is usually known for her quirky and unapologetic personality, but no matter what she intended with the remarks, they did not sit right with the audience, especially given the timing of it all.
Lively was deemed a bully and self-absorbed after the clip was released. A viewer commented under the video, “I love how the interviewer immediately picked up on their pompous, self-absorbed attitudes and let them shine for themselves. Excellent.“
Another wrote, “This gave me flashbacks to how I was bullied in highschool. It’s a weird type of bullying where you’re constantly put down then ignored. Props to the interviewer for keeping it cool.”
Viewers also pointed out how rude Lively and Parker Posey came across in the interview as they gave off Mean Girls vibes: “This is a classic high school bullying method. Acting like you totally click with your bestie right in front of the ‘third wheel’ to make them feel as excluded and ostracized and rejected as possible.“
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Meanwhile, Flaa claimed in the video that she was not warned not to bring up Lively’s pregnancy before the interview began, contrary to the rumors. She stated in the caption,
I was never told such a thing by anyone…FYI! If I was ever asked not to mention something during an interview – why on earth would I do that first thing – so they could confiscate my interview afterwards? (yes, they would do that).
Kjersti Flaa Didn’t Post the Video with Bad Intentions
A couple of months later, the New York Times released an interview with Flaa, where the reporter came clean, stating that she had never intended for the video to go viral for all the wrong reasons.
For context, Lively was already getting a ton of hate during the promotions of It Ends with Us, due to her attitude in various interviews, which came across as tone-deaf, given the serious topic of the film.
If Flaa didn’t mean to add fuel to the fire, why would she post the clip at such a crucial time? Well, talking to the NYT, the reporter stated that it wasn’t her intention to upload the interview just to “see what happens.“
In fact, she was worried that the video would have ended up with people applauding Lively for her comebacks and attacking Flaa for her “insensitive” questions. She said,
Back then, when I did that interview, I never wanted to post it on YouTube, because I knew if I did, A, I would probably never be invited again by her publicists, clients or the studio again. And B, I think it was a different cultural landscape eight years ago, and they would have attacked me instead of her, right? If we did that interview or someone was rude to me, it was always a journalist’s fault. And I think that has shifted. Now the times are a little different.
Flaa has also had an awkward moment with Anne Hathaway when she interviewed the cast of Les Misérables (at least the actress apologized later). In fact, she admitted that she has multiple moments where celebrities have been rude in various interviews, but she isn’t sure if she will post them for everyone to see or not.
Do share your thoughts on Lively’s awkward moments and Aniston’s heartwarming exchange with Flaa in the comments section below!
Stream It Ends with Us on Netflix and rent/buy The Bounty Hunter on Prime Video.
