Following the news that Blake Lively is suing her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni for alleged 'sexual harassment', a journalist who previously endured a 'nightmare' interview with the actress has spoken out.
A New York Times story hinted at a connection between Baldoni and reporter Kjersti Flaa - who claimed earlier this year that a run-in with the Gossip Girl actress made her want to 'quit her job'.
The implication was that the pair had collaborated on a 'smear campaign' against her.
Startling all the way back in 2023, fans of US author Coleen Hoover's best-selling romantic drama novel It Ends With Us were elated to hear that actress Blake Lively would be starring as main character Lily Bloom in the film adaptation.
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Not only would Justin Baldoni be featuring as Lily's love interest Ryle Kincaid, but he'd also direct the movie, having been involved since 2019.
Despite proving a financial success, the promotion surrounding the movie somewhat tainted the experience of many viewers, with Lively being branded 'tone deaf' for focussing heavily on her character's aesthetic in press chats, as opposed to the real subject of the film - domestic abuse.
Despite playing lovers in the blockbuster, rumours of a rift between Lively and Baldoni also set tongues wagging this summer, with the pair rarely paired together for interviews, and appearing to actively avoid one another on red carpets.
It was also around this time that Norwegian reporter Kjersti Flaa released a clip of a 2016 interview she underwent with Lively - who was promoting her stint in Café Society at the time - accusing her of poor behaviour.
The YouTube video - which was captioned, 'The Blake Lively interview that made me want to quit my job' - went viral upon its release, after showing Lively directing blunt responses at the journalist.
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Flaa later told press she released the controversial clip because 'it’s about time that people behaving badly in Hollywood gets called out for it', adding, 'it’s not okay, even if you are rich and famous'.
Now, as well as filing a lawsuit against Baldoni for both 'sexual harassment' and trying to launch a 'social manipulation' campaign against her during the time of the film's promotion, Flaa has denied being involved with Baldoni's alleged smear campaign.
A report by The New York Times suggests Baldoni's crisis management expert Melissa Nathan may have had something to do with the timing of Flaa's video.
The report adds of the journalist: "It wasn’t the first time she had posted a video aligned with a client of Ms. Nathan.
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"In 2022, in the midst of Mr. Depp’s legal battle with Ms. Heard, Ms. Flaa posted clips of her interviews with the actor, tagged #JusticeForJohnnyDepp."
Flaa has since slammed this theory, taking to Instagram to deny all involvement.
"Just wanted to put it out there. I have nothing to do with Justin Baldoni and his smear campaign against Blake Lively that was reported on by The New York Times today," she wrote.
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"There are conspiracy theories out there accusing me of being paid by his PR team to help with their smear campaign. None of this is true."
In an almost-10 minute long video, the reporter alleges she had 'nothing to do with' the 'dirty work' going on 'behind the scenes', and that she has 'never met' Baldoni.
She adds: "When I read the text messages that was going back and forth between Justin Baldoni’s PR team, I was as shocked and appalled like everyone else, and I would never be take part in anything like that.
"That's such an insult to me."
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During her near-10 minute video on this, she says she has ‘never met’ Baldoni and ‘actually didn’t know he existed’ before this movie.
The actor's lawyers have since vehemently denied all of the accusations being made against him, according to a statement given to Variety.
Tyla has previously contacted Sony Pictures, Baldoni and Lively’s reps for comment.
Topics: Blake Lively, Celebrity, TV And Film, US News, News
Rhianna Benson