Lively's representatives have yet to respond publicly. In 2016, the actress may have been defensive about pregnancy-related questions she felt were intrusive or inappropriate for a professional setting.
Insiders say this interview has circulated in journalism circles for years as an infamous example of talent gone rogue. Now that it's viral again, people are connecting the dots between Lively's treatment of this reporter and her legal warfare against Justin Baldoni — where Flaa got dragged into the crossfire via subpoena.
The interview took place in 2016 during promotion for 'Café Society.' Kjersti Flaa was one of the people subpoenaed by Lively in December 2024 as part of her legal battle with Justin Baldoni over 'It Ends With Us,' a case that settled last week.
Power dynamics in celebrity interviews are rarely this nakedly exposed. Whether you think Lively was justified in pushing back on body commentary or not, ignoring a reporter mid-sit-down is a different kind of move — and eight years later, she's still being called out for it.
Blake Lively left an entertainment journalist "traumatized" after what should have been a simple promotional interview turned into something far more uncomfortable. In an exclusive conversation with Page Six on Monday, reporter Kjersti Flaa recounted the now-viral 2016 sit-down with the 'Gossip Girl' alum and her 'Café Society' co-star Parker Posey — and let me tell you, the receipts are brutal. The trouble started when Flaa congratulated Lively, who was pregnant at the time, on her "little bump." Instead of accepting the well-wishes gracefully, Lively fired back with a pointed: "Congrats on your little bump." The implication?
That Flaa herself had gained weight. According to Flaa, she sat there stunned, unsure how to process what just happened. "I was just sitting there like, 'Oh.' I didn't really understand all that," she recalled.
But the worst was yet to come. When Flaa attempted to pivot the conversation toward wardrobe and costumes for the film, Lively escalated dramatically. "Everyone wants to talk about the clothes, but I wonder if they would ask the men about the clothes," Lively snapped.
Then — here's where it gets truly wild — both Lively and Posey turned to each other and began having a full conversation while completely ignoring Flaa, who was supposed to be leading the interview. "That's when I started feeling like, 'Oh my God. They're actually doing this,'" Flaa said.
She described being "in shock" over the treatment, noting that as a journalist, she felt trapped by the power imbalance inherent in interviewing A-list talent. The reporter admitted she wanted desperately to react but feared the consequences for her career. "As a journalist, you always have to take the high road," she explained.
"So when I was sitting there, I couldn't react to what they were doing to me... because I knew if I did, then I would never get opportunities like that again." Flaa claimed she's seen colleagues get blacklisted for far less than pushing back against difficult interviews — and that's exactly why she stayed silent in the moment. "Not that I necessarily wanted to interview Blake again, but she has a publicist, and then they talk and then they blacklist you.
That's how it works," she alleged. What makes this story even juicier? Flaa was actually subpoenaed during Lively's explosive legal battle with her 'It Ends With Us' co-star Justin Baldoni.
Lively sued Baldoni in December 2024 for sexual harassment and retaliation, while he hit back with a $400 million countersuit accusing her and husband Ryan Reynolds of defamation and orchestrating a smear campaign. (Baldoni's countersuit was tossed in June 2025; last month, a judge threw out 10 of Lively's 13 allegations including the sexual harassment claim.) The two sides reached a settlement just last week — with neither party walking away with any money.
Flaa told Page Six she wasn't sure what she would have said on the stand if there had been a trial, but admitted: "I was kind of looking forward to just poke holes in everything." She also noted that Lively has never reached out to apologize for the interview — and wonders where things might be today if she'd simply made amends. "Blake had every opportunity to right this wrong because she clearly knew very well that this interview existed," Flaa said. Representatives for both Lively and Posey did not immediately respond to Page Six's requests for comment.
