Picture it: the year was 2016. Blake Lively was pregnant with her second child, Inez, after giving birth to daughter James in 2014. She was promoting Cafe Society, a Woody Allen film, which got a splashy premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, much to the chagrin of Woody’s estranged family. Blake was completely unable to speak about any of it without sounding like a huge a–hole, but we were one year away from Blake throwing a hissy fit when she was asked about the hideous jumpsuit she wore at a Variety event. This is all connected, I promise, because an entertainment journalist who interviewed Blake during that era wants to call people’s attention to something that happened in 2016.
During the promotion for Woody Allen’s Cafe Society, they put Blake and Parker Posey together at the junket. Meaning, a cattle call of five-minute interviews, all of which are supposed to be light and help promote the film. One entertainment journalist, Kjersti Flaa, sat down to interview Parker and Blake. Flaa started out by congratulating Blake on her “little bump.” Blake then snapped, “congrats on your little bump.” Parker tried to diffuse it and Flaa tried to ask her first question, about the costumes in Woody Allen’s Cafe Society. Blake then complains bitterly, “Everyone wants to talk about the clothes, but I wonder if they would ask the men about the clothes.” Flaa tries to say “I would” but Blake and Parker start ignoring her and talking between themselves and Blake says: “It’s not just the women that have the clothes, but I feel like the women get the conversation.”
I’m just getting flashbacks to how this was white women’s cause du jour in the pre-MeToo days – “how dare you ask me anything about fashion.” They were really on a f–king tear about that, and they were always wearing designer freebies and borrowed jewelry and carrying comped purses. White celebrity women were ready to go to war over their new cause: Don’t Ask Me What I’m Wearing! Don’t Talk About Fashion! And the fact that she was doing this as she was promoting a WOODY ALLEN film always kills me.
Anyway, yes, Blake has always been this rude, dumb and unpleasant. That’s why this current backlash against Blake is landing so well – she has a long history of this sh-t. The only silver lining is that Ms. Allure of Antebellum never publicized photos of her plantation wedding – TikTok would be having a f–cking field day with that.
Norwegian interviewer Kjersti Flaa shares her “nightmare” interview with Blake Lively, conducted in 2016 while Lively was promoting Woody Allen's ‘Café Society’:
“Sitting down with Blake Lively and her co star Parker Posey for Cafe Society (2016) is the most uncomfortable… pic.twitter.com/E6hWzTcYYp
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) August 15, 2024
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- Blake Lively CINEMA : 69 th Cannes Film Festival – Photo Call Café Society – 05/11/2016,Image: 530539642, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Loic Thebaud / Panoramic / Avalon
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- Blake Lively CINEMA : 69 th Cannes Film Festival – Photo Call Café Society – 05/11/2016,Image: 530539674, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Loic Thebaud / Panoramic / Avalon
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- Blake Lively, Woody Allen, Kristen Stewart CINEMA : 69 th Cannes Film Festival – Photo Call Café Society – 05/11/2016,Image: 530539728, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Loic Thebaud / Panoramic / Avalon
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- Blake Lively, woody Allen, Kirsten Stewart, Jesse Eisenberg CINEMA : 69 eme Festival de Cannes – red carpet – Cafe Society – 11/05/2016,Image: 530560588, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Loic Thebaud / Panoramic / Panoramic / Avalon
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- 151786, Woody Allen, Kristen Stewart and Blake Lively at the Cafe Society photocall during the 69th annual Cannes Film Festival. Cannes, France – Wednesday May 11, 2016. USA, OZ, NZ, SOUTH AFRICA, JAPAN AND CHINA ONLY,Image: 532363388, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS, DIRECT SALES ONLY UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE IN CAPTION – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: CRYSTAL, PacificCoastNews / Avalon
Once i read “promoting a woody allen movie” i must move on.
All the ick in the world.
Im gonna be team justin because she is so horrible as a person. Entitled rich woman who wants the world to pretend that she is a 25yo ingenue when in fact, she’s a grown woman with 4 kids and thinks she has the power to shut down another person with less money and star power and her and her husband. People see right through you.
This. Very well said.
It’s such a contrast, because in the current movie promotion, she won’t stop talking about the costumes and she invites the question.
Entitled, yes. But we have no idea what had happened. I hate that women cannot even be rude, but men are innocent until when? They kill someone? Depp, Pitt, Arnie the cannibal, Gibson, C Affleck,… and btw, ‘bump,’ really?
Nobody should be rude, period. I hope you meant “getting away with it”.
However, Adam Driver was getting dragged when he was rude to an interviewer, the privilege is only accorded to a few big names even if men.
@MIL “women cannot even be rude” no we can’t. Men cant be rude either. When the receipts shows you’re constantly an azzhole, well im not siding or defending you. I hate those people, and I hate the intimidators, the mean girls, the entitled karens. Blake is just that, and that is exactly the way I feel about adam driver for example because he’s so rude too.
I repeat what I wrote yerstarday: none of them is a good person, however Blake is the one with more power, however it seems she has pissed a lot of people with her a-hole way, and those people are now ready to spill the tea.
It me reminds of the Olivia Wilde mess.
With StillDouchesOfCambridge on this one. This has nothing to do with double standards, people like Blake or Ryan are paid millions of dollars, that includes behaving in an appropriate manner when in front of journalists or public.
MIL
I don’t even like this Justin, as I said in another comment he gives me the creeps. But two things can be true here, he’s been a self entitled ego monster and she’s been one as well – she has more power in HW than he does and went scorched earth on him. Sorry but he wouldn’t have needed to hire a shady PR crisis firm if her sources hadn’t started to constantly blab to the rags.
If she has receipts or cause to destroy his career, she NEEDS to provide the info. If not, she needs to go away – her, her florals and whatever she’s shilling.
No idea what happened bw her and Justin. No sides taken. But in terms of the interview, she was not nice and pretty privilege has nothing to do with it. AFAIK, she has not continued to be that unkind to people interviewing her.
Blake Lively said in her experience Woody Allen was empowering to women. She said that it was “dangerous to factor in anything you don’t know about” in regard to abuse allegations against him. She hasn’t really backed off her praise of Allen or her feeling that it’s “dangerous to factor in anything you don’t know about” him, I take that to mean she believes it’s dangerous to pay attention to Dylan Farrow.
Wow that crisis management firm works fast. I’m not going to defend Blake from criticism about her antebellum wedding or gross racist Preserve website or her vocal support of Woody Allen, but the fact this is all coming out now is not a coincidence. It will be interesting to see if she hits back. She has the resources and friends. What a messy messy mess.
Blaming this on the crisis management firm and not holding her accountable for her own horrid behaviour here?
As predictable as always, White woman will White woman.
I JUST SAID I won’t defend her, but you can also recognize a concerted and organized effort to push this negative information out. It just makes it easier because she has skeletons in her closet, but even “perfect victims” who are sufficiently innocent even for your standards will get smeared. The effort is ugly and misogynistic. We see it with Amber Heard and Angelina Jolie and the Duchess of Sussex, on and on and on. It’s gross and I’m just naming it.
Well there’s 2 things here, Blake’s behavior and why this 8 year old interview is being revisited now and who that benefits. Blakes behavior is absolutely shitty and this is exactly the move that this crisis firm does. Highlight all the ways that Blake was a bad/mean/racist person now so that whatever comes out about what happened to her later can be explained away in public opinion like she deserved it.
Exactly. This was her back in 2016 and it’s been known that Blake isn’t the nicest.
I’m disgusted that Blake called the interviewer fat because she congratulated her on her bump. If Blake didn’t want to talk about her bump she could have just asked. It was rude and uncalled for. That interview is very uncomfortable to watch. Both her and Parker Posey are awful. Justin may have hired that PR firm but that doesn’t take away that Blake is rude.
White women will white women. Really? Is that really acceptable? Sorry hon, no.
the fact that only Lively is called out as being rude in this interview, instead of both her and Posey being called out does smack of this being brought to light as Pinkosaurus & Kate are describing. It’s labeled as if Lively is the sole problem but Posey was just as rude – Parker and Lively were engaging with each other instead of with the interviewer.
I thought Parker Posey was rude, but I think she’s not famous or glamorous enough to care about ( even though she’s a good actress).
Crisis management or not, stuff like this usually comes out years later when the latest controversy is happening. I don’t see this as unique to Blake.
@Menlisa – don’t turn this into a white woman thing, people of all colours and genders can be rude. I can think of several — Cardi B has a bad rep for being rude. Trey Songz has a horrible rep for being rude, even among black people. Jason Statham, Tim Allen, this list goes on and on.
Black with a capital B when referring to Black people @jaded. That always lets me know how far people are along their equity and anti racist journey. Blake lively is trash. I’m glad people are finally calling her out even if it is 8 years too late.
Is this all coming out now though? I didn’t know about this because she’s never really caught my eye as an actress but I definitely knew about the Oakland booty, and plantation wedding stuff but that’s because black people were pretty vocal about it at the time. At least those in my age range. I wonder if a lot of this stuff is just collating together now, but was well known by particular groups depending on what it was that she said/did and now it’s being used as evidence of a pattern.
The Norwegian reporter just posted the interview to YouTube last week in the midst of all the Blake criticism.
Yes, Blake is a difficult person to defend because she has inexcusable skeletons in her closet.
But make no mistake, Justin hired the same crisis management team that DARVO’d Amber Heard and they are doing the same to Blake.
What does her being an asshole 8 years ago have to do with now? Surely we’ve all done some pretty dumb and embarrassing things years and years ago that do not represent who we are today – hopefully we have learned from our errors, etc.
I’m not saying Blake is not an a-hole today – I don’t know her! I’m just saying this terrible, rude interview in which she behaved inexcusably 8 years ago proves nothing about what’s going on with IEWU today. But it is absolutely coming out now so people can pretend it does.
she just posted the interview but the interview existed before that did it not? Just like the LA Face with and Oakland booty, and antebellum chic stuff existed. My larger point was that people may not have realized a lot of these things aren’t one off cringy things from “years ago” because it could be very community specific. Like I said I’m not a huge fan of her as an actress so watching an interview about her doing a Woody Allen movie was going to not be on my radar for a Multitude of reasons, so I wasn’t aware of this. It could absolutely be the PR agency doing what they were hired to do, but they aren’t creating this stuff out of nowhere. And yes people do and say cringy shit all the time, including myself and I can’t get upset if people point out all the repeated times I’ve done and said cringy shit right up to the present.
I think journalists keep things in reserve when the time is right. And I’m the age of Twitter everything comes back. I don’t think people in the offline world would care though.
The attack on the director was oddly unspecific. They could have waited until after the movie promo to do their shunning. Everything is backfiring. Remember, we don’t know what he did. It’s being implied he was abusive, but not a single specific story has come out. For Hollywood/set life, that’s rare.
Something in the milk isn’t clean.
Yes, I want them to reveal the real reason why they’re avoiding Justin. Just come out and say what he did, and what warranted the public shunning. It’s extremely important, especially in light of the nature of the movie, but they’re not and the focus on the “fun, froth, and positive” is sus.
Just come out and say it, Blake. I’m listening: please be willing to discuss issues with gravitas, especially when they’re at the height of relevance.
Apparently she felt uncomfortable and mistreated twice.
1. Before a scene in which he had to lift and carry her he is said to have asked someone on set (maybe his trainer?) how much she weights and if that person could help him train for it so he wouldn’t hurt himself (allegedly because he’s had back problems before). She felt he fat-shamed her and her postpartum body with that.
2. She thought he lingered too long in a scene in which they kissed.
The whole press tour for this movie – at least her part of it – is a fiasco. She seems so vapid, daft ,shallow and out-of-touch and it really seems like she’d been looking for a rom-com she could promote light-heartedly and jolly to also promote her other projects (hair products and cocktails I think) at the same time but ended up with this story and just didn’t get that her promotion idea just wouldn’t work like that here.
Idk guys. I’m usually on the women’s side with things like this, but here.. I think I’m more team Justin?
The journalist in question reposted the video.
While TMZ and bots could he connected with the shady PR firm, this is genuinely not part of it.
Pinkosaurus, ITA. Blake is both awful and someone who is getting Johnny Depp’s exclusive Amber Heard treatment. We’re getting a front-row ticket to all of her worst moments (racism, mean girl, etc,…) so that whatever happened with JB, if it gets out, seems deserved in the court of public opinion. It’s like deja vu.
Eh. That narrative kinda falls apart when you take into consideration the power imbalance. BL and RR are worth $380M and are very influential in Hollywood, particularly RR’s production company Maximum Effort–in that respect they share far more in common with Depp than they do with Heard.
So much of the (likely bot-generated or at least bot-amplified) criticisms are around how Blake didn’t take DV seriously enough in the movie promos but Justin did, therefore Justin = Good Guy.
So not only is Justin getting all the flowers for doing the bare minimum (men are statistically much more likely to be abusers in DV, so the burden should fall more to men than to women/survivors to raise awareness. Plus and he plays the abuser in this film! He should absolutely be out there talking about DV – good for him, sure, but all the glow he is getting for it is like praising a dad for changing his kids diaper – getting way more credit than a mom would for doing the basic minimum of what is required),
But also Blake Lively’s strategy on PR for the movie has been “DV survivors are more than just DV survivors – Lily can have a fulfilling career, enjoy clothes and fashion and doesn’t need to be reduced to someone whose partner abuses her.”
Do I think Blake needed to be a little clearer about that? Sure – it’s obvious that many people misunderstood her strategy here. Do I think she confused it with Blake Lively being fun and fashion-focused? Absolutely – some of her press quotes came off utterly unrelatable/tone deaf and missed the mark she was aiming for entirely.
But she was attempting to broaden our understanding of DV survivors and instead the internet started sh***ing on her for not conforming to our idea of what someone representing a “victim” should be.
And maybe we all need to reexamine why our knee jerk response is to pile on Blake for this. Is it because of the terrible things she’s done in the past and we want her re-cancelled? (They are bad – this interview is inexcusable! But it’s also very old and bringing it up again now feels like the reporter cashing in on the anti-BL energy for hits on her YouTube channel)
Is it because we’ just don’t like her/she gives us the ick (a comment I’ve seen again and again with no explanation as to why), or is Justin’s DARVO team strategy working?
Because we/the internet are gleefully throwing a lot of abuse at a woman for *checks notes* not representing DV abuse the same way her male costar is.
“Because we/the internet are gleefully throwing a lot of abuse at a woman for *checks notes* not representing DV abuse the same way her male costar is.” . . . this is not accurate – at all. First of all, the internet was not gleefully throwing abuse at a woman for not representing DV abuse the same way her male costar is – she was not representing DV abuse at all. They were rightfully calling her out. For weeks now, even before there was a crisis management team. There have already been a lot of think pieces out there that pointed this out – first about the book itself (how it just used DV as a narration device, how it romanticised DV and did not give it the careful & sensitive handling it deserves) and then how Blake Lively was promoting the film. I saw one interview of Blake wherein they asked her about it and she replied in another version of the statement you wrote, how Lily is not just defined by DV and proceeded to what Lily wears, what she does (I just don’t know how to link but its easily searchable), etc. She was deliberately redirecting the conversation. If she could have avoided mentioning DV, she was doing it. Unfortunately for her, the interviewers had an idea what the book was about.
More importantly, she is aware of what she has done because of the widespread negative reaction to her, she was forced to post something on DV on her IG – a WEEK (or so) after people were calling her out. So she knows she did something wrong.
We, as a society, know a lot more about the effects of abuse now. I personally think that Blake’s angle is coming across as very frivolous and not taking PTSD and CPTSD seriously. Trauma is very difficult to deal with and its not uncommon to not overcome it, even with the best therapies, drug, etc. available. If Blake really wanted to go with her Florals and Friends theme, she could have at least mentioned the value of friends and community for DV survivors. She also should have reconsidered trying to attach her hair products and non-alcoholic beverages to this film.
It think it comes off worse when the man is at least to say something about DV and the woman is making everything very superficial. This woman is not an ally. She’s showing us exactly who she is and has been for a while, it seems.
You are dead wrong trying to tie in what the Duchess of Sussex went through to is! What Meghan went through, continues to go through JUST for being a Black woman/WOC should not be compared to this, how dare you use a Black woman’s pain to make your point to give a White woman the benefit of the doubt?
Show me a video where Meghan went above and beyond to be cruel to a journalist? Show me a video where Meghan dismissed talking about heavy topics RELATED to any role she was playing?
There are countless of evidences that show Meghan is a genuinely good person, who found herself at the receiving end of a smear campaign that caused her to lose her child & become suicidal all because she is Black.
That was just dirty of you to try and use a genuinely good Black woman’s suffering for this.
It’s really ridiculous how people jump through hoops to defend someone’s bad behavior when they are literally witnessing the person being a rude, condescending and entitled person right before their eyes. I’m not saying that she has to be perfect but how hard is it to be a nice person when you are on a press run?
Thank you for saying that. Trying to bring Meghan in is a Trojan Horse. Meghan managed her entire life of working and philanthropy without a single person having a bad word to say about her. The vile accusations didn’t start until she had the termerity to marry a royal prince while being Black. They tried to pay an old boyfriend but even then he wouldn’t say anything but nice things about her. To try to excuse Blake by comparing her well known bad behaviour with the treatment of Meghan for no reason is completely wrong.
She called that interviewer fat for congratulating her on her pregnancy. I mean…. Wtf?
Yeah, in terms of being a jerk to an interviewer, Meghan would never. There’s no word of her being a jerk ever ever to anyone except for the clear smear campaign from the palace. No one else. This is a video where Blake was not being kind.
I think both things can be true here: Blake has always been an unlikeable twit AND Justin’s crisis management is mining the large history of her twittiness to adjust the conversation. Do I think this is only his team at work? Nope. I think she has ruffled enough feathers over the years that regular people (such as this journalist) have cover to happily share their accounts.
Exactly! Its really her own entitled behavior and tone deafness that got us here. Crisis management aside, we are not talking about hearsay, the behavior is on full display. The press run seems like a BL fashion show.
I think this interview surfacing again is the work of the Depp PR team. The same reporter came out in defence of Depp — so there’s a connection there.
@Emily oooop, there it is.
I don’t think Blake is the best, far from it, but this is so clearly the same playbook they used on Amber, who was also not a perfect victim. remember how they were going on about how much the people on Aquaman didn’t like her?
I’m not saying Blake was abused, but I can’t believe people are falling for the same old playbook.
This is not the same situation at all, it’s actually reversed. BL and RR are the Johnny Depps here in terms of power and money.
If, big IF, Baldoni has been abusive to her, she needs to come out and say it. But in spite of her power and money, she’s chosen to push a number of character assassination pieces in the press through sources.
Make no mistake, nobody might be a victim here.
First of all that is a crisis PR management’s job. Second what should they do let Blake railroad Justin for what seems to be very small and at best annoying misunderstandings that had they been adults they could have discussed and moved passed or just quietly never spoken to each other after the film promotion?
Blake isn’t some victim in this, not sure Justin is either, but for sure Blake isn’t. So far the stuff that has come out as slights against her from him aren’t serious, they are misunderstandings. They are adult conversations that HER behavior in this has created into bigger things.
Finally the PR team couldn’t pull this up or make this a thing if BLAKE DID NOT TREAT THE REPORTER THIS WAY. Is the timing a little suspicious sure, but it is available to be used because BLAKE was rude and hateful to a reporter that congratulated her on her pregnancy that she had announced. Yes i think the reporter did it in a weird way but this is where Blake needs to learn to be gracious and say thank you.
People can’t call out bad behavior if there is no bad behavior.
This is not a crisis management company working fast. This is a journalist (a well respected one at that) who has been holding on to this for 8 years, waiting for the right moment to let it out. She saw the tide turning against blake and figured it was her best shot to get some payback. Thats is normal not just in Hollywood but all around. People will hold off sharing bad experiences when someone is looked at favorable so as not to be discredited, but the moment they smell blood, they will go all out. If there are more stories like this of blake and ryan, and Justin too! It will keep coming out in the next few days.
That’s exactly what happened with Harvey Weinstein as soon as he had lost some power people felt able to share more about their experiences with him and what they had heard. I remember Courtney love saying she had some reprocussio s and was blackballed when she spoke about about him and his then alleged behaviour on the red carpet.
The look on Parker Posey’s face at the end of the interview is interesting.
I’m looking at Parker Posey differently since seeing that.
Me too.
Me too. At first I thought she felt the awkwardness and was trying to diffuse, but…not so much. Blake and Parker talking to each other only and the cut aways to the reporter just sitting there were so uncomfortable…
I found her face gross and disrespectful.
Came here to comment how disappointed I am in Parker Posey. Totally wouldn’t have expected that kind of bad behavior from her.
Parker was just as rude as Lively. She gladly took the bait from lively – oh are we being mean girls today? – And ran with it. Ignoring the interviewer with conversation with her costar and making a nasty face at her when she left. I too wish if the WHOLE cast and writer have a beef with the director come out with it. I can’t believe they ALL are shunning him because he asked how much Blake weighed because he had to pick her up and kissed her too long.
I hate the way Parker shuts out the interviewer, keeps her gaze on Blake, the other popular girl. So high school.
As someone who was bullied by women like Lively & Posey growing up, that was truly painful to watch.
As a Black woman I did get a giggle out of her new & fitting nickname: The Plantation Princess 🤣🤣🤣
Idk, I watched it..the reporter looked more surly to me than the subjects. Tho BL was clearly not ok with the bump comment. PP to the rescue, and then I felt like they genuinely did love the men’s fashion…and there were times they addressed the reporter and tried to include her. Had she announced her pregnancy yet? I also wonder if something before the interview had set her off with the reporter? It’s like you said earlier it’s getting really strange…and the whole are they pregnant or is it a burrito baby thing gets intrusive and embarrassing I feel like she’s got a right to not want to talk about her body or children of she doesn’t want to, and this whole villian thing that’s trying to prevail here is just playing in to that. Irl there’s always 3 sides, his,.here and what really happened.
She announced her pregnancy at the Met Gala that year. 2 months earlier.
@jeanette I don’t get where you’re coming from. She is very obviously pregnant in that interview. No burritos baby. And as far as something happening prior, grow up and be a professional. It’s literally her job.
So being fat shamed and ignored during the interview shouldn’t be a reason for the reporter to look “surly”?
I feel like the reporter should have asked Blake if it’s okay to talk about the pregnancy/her bump first (before the interview), sorry. I was only okay talking about being pregnant with close friends and family. I hated being asked about it by strangers, I found it super rude and unpleasant. And yes, I would lash out at them for asking me questions. In retrospect, I blame it on the hormones, and I wish I was kinder, but people really need to mind their own business and approach this subject with more tact.
@dani, you hated being congratulated? I’m not saying people weren’t in your business. But in this video she only congratulated Blake.
Blake could have said “I’m only comfortable talking about the baby with friends” instead of fat shamming the interviewer. She was rude. And so was Parker Posey.
Press junkets don’t operate in a way where lowly reporters get the opportunity to pre-screen questions. The reporter might have over stepped but BL was incredibly rude to respond in such a fashion. Kudos to the interviewer for maintaining her professionalism.
Do the publicists tell reporters what’s off limits before they interview at these junkets? I’d assume that would be a publicists job, but I don’t know anything about how these things work.
If feel like its only a matter of time before the internet sleuths find an interview during this junket where a reporter congratulates Blake on her pregnancy and she responds positively.
All Blake had to do was say “Thank you” but no, she behaved like a rude, entitled princess. No excuse.
Seems like the common denominator is that she will retaliate at any mention of her weight. People are siding with the person who will bring them their next sequel and paycheck. Even Jenny Slate can be blinded by star power (ie She left her marriage for Captain America). Maybe Justin Baldoni is a terrible person, but for him to choose a movie trying to bring awareness to DV suggests otherwise. If Blake wanted to get rights to the sequel, her promoting the movie as a fun girls night out is 1 way to push him out of the sequel.
Kind of bummed that Parker Posey was acting like this too.
Yeah. The Parker Posey eye roll at the end of the interview is peak mean girl.
Me, too. I love her but maybe IRL she’s more like her character in Dazed & Confused and less like her character in Party Girl? 🙁
I was just about to comment about that. Maybe she really is like Darla. I almost expected her to shout “AIR RAID” at the end.
Yikes. Blake tried to fat shame the reporter for commenting on Blake’s bump. That was rude, but then she compounds it into wtf territory by completely ignoring the lady and carrying on with Parker Posey. I understand not wanting your big starring role in a Woody Allen film watered down, but ma’am, you starred in a Woody Allen film. She could have asked how you justified that, but I digress.
That’s why I feel like Justin crisis management team is pushing this story across platforms. Even if it was the journalist who started it. A few days ago, it comes out that Blake felt Justin fat shamed her. Asking about her weight due to his back injuries and wanted to strength train accordingly. For a scene he lifted her up. And Blake took that as a shot at her weight. Then this story comes out with Blake fat shaming a journalist just complimenting her pregnancy with nothing malicious behind it.
It just feels like two PR teams’ mudslinging and it’s all one big ick to me.
Plantation princess strikes again
I was clueless to any of this (except the plantation wedding – which Ryan is equally guilty of). This is bad. Not a good look. I do remember the ask her something more movement geez. Least you can do is name the designer that gave you all this free sh** to wear. What are they supposed to do ask you about your process/method on a crowded red carpet? Of all the causes to take up…
I had no idea she did a Woody Allen film. What is with this actresses who can’t stop defending this old creeper? I don’t watch any Woody Allen films so I was clueless to all of it. Ugh.
It’s particularly bitchy because Blake loves talking about fashion and always has.
Yup. She loved talking about wearing a Britney Spears dress at her IEWU premiere. She was ALL about that.
And in this case I believe it was a period piece film, so the costumes are always part of a discussion with that.
I can understand being annoyed at being asked ONLY that, but they could have just said “yes, the costume department did an incredible job, we were proud to wear their work” and then move into a different topic. Instead the two of them got annoyed about being asked about clothes, and then…rambled to each other about clothes.
@Ginger I think that was less about the dress. And more she was throwing her hat into the ring. Letting studios know she wants to star in Britney’s bio pic. And setting the stage for the fans to accept her IMHO.
Could be. She also bragged about using most of her clothes ( and Ryan’s) for this movie. She loved talking about it.
I think two things can be true. Blake Lively is an entitled a-hole with years of examples to back that up AND a powerful crisis management team is using that and amplifying it to get ahead of some negative stuff that could come out about their client. Nobody is a victim here, their film over performed, everyone got paid, the director will work again and Blake will be just fine.
Agreed. I do think this is being fueled by the crisis management team because according to Google, the interviewer never put this out there until now.
The whole thing is super-messy but I feel like if BL is going to malign JB’s character then she should expect the same in return. That’s just kinda how these things work.
Yep. She’s no innocent victim here.
OR:
Instead of being put out by a crisis management team, the reporter saw that BK is not having a good time in the public eye and knew that the interview would get noticed and sympathetic treatment and more publicity because of both.
This happens whenever the tide turns against someone. If the tide has legs (and the person actually has a crappy history), other people start coming out with their own stories. The interviewer in this case had a bonus: a video that’s evidence of BK acting bitchy, reinforcing the current narrative.
Someone’s an asshole? More stories of them being an asshole come out. Someone’s a creep? Creep stories come out.
The anti-BK PR team doesn’t have to unearth all of the stories. Some will come out naturally. The PR team just has to use the new evidence effectively.
Yes, to all of this. However, if something bad did happen on set to Blake, then being an asshole in the past doesn’t make Blake less of a victim now.
But the movie did well and I assume everyone will be fine.
Flaa showed true class in this interview. Both women acted like entitled bitches.
There is a Kate Winslet press junket interview that hit reddit yesterday that is a stark contrast. The interviewer was young and nervous, saying it was her first interview. KW then said, “Oh this will be great! You’ll do wonderfully! This will be the greatest interview ever! Ask whatever you want! Let’s do this!”
Choices. Yeah, dealing with press junkets are long and tiring, but make better choices.
What an amazing response. I love this.
This is a master class in being a mean girl.
As the daughter of narcissists and the sister of 2 people with personality/mood disorders, Parker’s arm positioning was very interesting to me. She’s reaching out to Blake in an attempt to soothe and comfort, to stop her from going off the rails and saying “it’s okay. Let’s stay on track here.” It makes me feel like the snapping was a common thing. (Or maybe just simply that Blake had told her before the interview, if ONE more person asks about my pregnancy/clothes, I’m going to snap!) Either way, her attitude about being congratulated about a pregnancy–which is supposed to be happy news–is just beyond.
I love everything about this website. However, can everyone use the Oxford Comma? Respect and loyalty!
Sorry, I didn’t go to Oxford and know how to use those fancy commas! /s 🙂
sorry, i am very much anti-oxford comma!
Not the place to become the grammar police.
It’s strictly a matter of preference. I work for one of the top PR firms in New York City, and our CEO is very much anti-Oxford comma and we are told not to use it. There is no right or wrong.
This is who we are now as a society? We need to dig up stuff from 2016 just so we pile on hate to someone? I’m over it.
It’s gross but this is what the PR industry is, ya know?
I agree. I don’t like her (I find her uninteresting) but everyone has bad days and bad moments. Digging this up is ridiculous.
I believe the interviewer just recently discussed this interview and her experience with Lively, and it pre-dated the crisis management team. And I think many things can be true at once – Lively was an ass in that interview, she is turning her current movie about DV into her fashion princess moment, she is handling her interviews badly, and the director may be guilty of doing negative things on set that we have yet to hear about. For right now, though, he seems the only one focused on DV issues and handling them thoughtfully in his interviews, so kudos to him.
“and the director may be guilty of doing negative things on set that we have yet to hear about.”
Yeah and I hope that comes out sooner rather than later so I can firmly pick a team here lol.
I definitely need to know more details to pick a side.
I think it’s likely just a power struggle. He owned the rights to the film (and I think the second one), but she was a producer on the film. We also know that the writer for the film didn’t know that her work was being redone by Ryan Reynolds, and she found out during an interview! That’s a terrible way to treat someone, even if you need to make changes.
We know that Blake was involved with editing and it sounds like she had strong opinions about the directing. From my perspective, it seems like she lacks experience in how to handle all of those different elements and the human beings that were hired to do them.
I’ve also heard that Baldoni can be very arrogant, so maybe there’s jerks on all sides. I wonder if they are haggling over the second film. If he owns the rights, but she wants to take over completely, maybe they are trying to find a number for sale. This might be a public campaign to move the number up or down.
@ Tiffany–Yep I think the riff will turn out to be due work-related and creative differences rather than anything related to sexual harassment or whatever. But we’ll see.
And yeah I could see JB being difficult to work with on some levels–hardly unique in Hollywood where people can be very passionate about their creative positioning and control.
Same. Gonna need more info.
Agree. There’s likely two sides but so far all I’m seeing is Blake stinks.
It may have pre-dated, but it doesn’t mean his crisis team didn’t take this story and amplify it across platforms. In retaliation of the PR story about Blake feeling fat shamed by Justin for asking about her weight and strength training to accommodate his back injury. As she had just given birth a few months before filming started. Just good old fashioned Hollywood mudslinging to me.
I still keep coming back to BL hiring her own editor to do her own cut of the film. What actress/exec producer does that It’s the directors film. It reeks of entitled behaviour (coupled with the hair care launch).
Same, and I am dying to know which edit won out. It may take a few years, but my guess Justin will one day tell his side of the story. Blake will just act like he no longer exists is my guess about her.
Maybe all this noise about behind the scenes infighting. Is just free publicity for the movie. Be interesting to see how much it falls off or gets to #1 at the box office this weekend.
But if they do the 2nd book in the series. I wouldn’t be surprised if either Blake or Ryan directs it. Or they co-direct it together. Because God forbid, they don’t act like the world’s most in love and supporting couple (barf). With the Ryle character gets recast. I am not sure if Justin bought the rights to both books or just the first. But I am sure Blake’s team did by now if that was an option.
Rich and entitled people gotta rich and entitle.
Frankly I’m surprised that TikTok sleuths haven’t yet discovered that the leaked Blake nudes were “allegedly” taken for Ben Affleck, with whom Blake “allegedly” was having an affair while he was *legally* married to Jen Garner (and she was still dating Penn Badgely). This was on the set of The Town, and Blake was beginning to eye bigger prizes than her TV actor bf (whom for what it’s worth I have heard is very nice).
I’m not saying that everyone who has ever cheated is an asshole. But in this case, it indicates that Blake acting like a dumb, selfish witch is not an anomaly.
Lets not forget how she and Ryan’s relationship started – he was still married to ScarJo when she setup pap shots of them being all cosy walking along piers/beaches and leaking to the press about making him home made cookies. Can’t remember the timeline between his divorce from ScarJo and going public with Blake but there was def overlap.
100% I believe Blake & Ryan had on set affair on Green Lantern. And she had to wait as the side chick until. ScarJo kicked his ass to the curb.
And she may have been the only woman to use and dump Leo to get Ryan to poop or get off the pot.
Blake and Ryan started ‘officially dating’ October 2011. After he divorced in July 2011 and she and Leo broke up in October 2011 after dating for about 5 months.
I used to follow a lot of gossip back then and there was no overlap ‘publicly’. However, he went from divorcing ScarJo to Lively leaving his apartment in the space of few weeks.
In the gossip world there were several rumours of them hooking up on the set of Green Lantern well before any rumours of them separating surfaced.
Big side eye there…
There weren’t strong affair rumours of Blake and Ryan on Green Lantern. The rumours that they were friendly and that she seemed very into him. They didn’t get together till well after his divorce. Not to say that they didn’t hook up but many stories mentioned how he saw her as a friend and she was the one with the heart eyes.
And everyone is missing the best part of the gossip story, that she started dating Leo and he was trailing her around Europe, incredibly into her publicly which was the first time he’d been so into a gf type and that she dumped him for Ryan soon as Ryan showed any interest. It was a huge gossip story at the time. Lainey at the time wrote so many posts with the general tone of awe on how Blake used Leo to get Ryan’s attention.
I remember that very well. Obviously it was a crime to leak those photos and so discussion around it was very muted. I remember Blake’s team trying to say they were fakes and someone (the leaker? JG’s team?) calling them out for lying. I do feel bad for all the women whose private pictures were leaked…they were victims of a crime.
BL however, has always been problematic but she was never an A-lister as a movie star, so she largely evaded attention at press conferences. This interview is just too strange because it platforms her hypocrisy; aside from what ppl already mentioned about her love of fashion and revealing her pregnancy etc, she and Ryan have absolutely encouraged their fans to “feel as if they know them.” There is no media intrusion when you put your life out there, complete with the cringiest “inside” jokes. To their credit, I thought she was thirsty, tone-deaf but well-intentioned…not a downright classless mean-girl.
really? this is what we’re doing now? dredging up old rumors from fifteen years ago?
who cares if she supposedly had an affair with Affleck fifteen years ago? bringing up the fact that naked pictures of her were released without her consent to use as ammo about how she’s a bad person because she’s, what, a slut?
this is gross, guys.
Because her history adds credence to her behaviour today. Leopards don’t change their spots.
Arizona, people still bring up Angelina Jolie’s kissing her brother as proof of her insanity and disgusting behaviour after 25 years, 2 husbands and 6 kids later.
I don’t know why Blake Lively should be exonerated from past behaviour, including being an a-hole to people.
Blake is an entitled asshole. Lots of bad stuff has been out there about her from before Justin hired the PR crisis team (for which i don’t blame him—a powerful couple worth $380 million is trying to take him down). People have genuinely been widely discussing Blake’s asshole ways on TikTok; it’s not all the crisis team doing all this. If Justin did something awful we would’ve heard about it by now. The cast members sided with Blake because she & Ryan are much more powerful (and ruthless) in Hollywood than Justin is. I’m happy to see this Antebellum-praising, plantation wedding, “Oakland booty”, rude & arrogant bad person get taken down. Her (and Parker Posey’s) bitchy mean behavior was awful and i felt so bad for the journalist. You can see how Blake treats people who she thinks are “beneath” her. I think Blake & Ryan tried to take over the whole project from Justin and it pissed him off—rightfully so, IMO, if that was the case.
I would also add that Blake is a nepo baby – her father was a successful actor and her mother was a talent manager/scout, not to mention that her older half siblings were also successful in the industry. She’s entitled as she’s pretty much had everything handed to her.
I think it should be emphasized that weeks BEFORE the director hired his PR Crisis Management Team, Blake likely was already being called out on social media for the way she was promoting the film (based on a problematic book by a problematic writer – her son was accussed of sexual assault. She contacted the victim and the complaint magically disappeared). There is no question that Blake is vapid and out of touch. She had her wedding at a plantation and a fashion blog about the antebellum south. They apologised and did some donations to relevant causes after that but it seems those were performative if she didn’t really learn her lesson, given her current actions.
I think it is because of the organic and widespread calling out of Blake Lively on social media for the past weeks that gave this reporter the courage to put this video interview out there. Just like victims (of whatever abuse) are given courage once just a single victim comes out. Floodgates then open.
Nonetheless, if they have complaints about the director, then they should come out with it. It should be noted that even though the director now currently have business projects with Sony, it is fairly obvious he is still a nobody compared to Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds who is practically a billionaire and has his hands in a varied of industries (sports, communications, etc.). If Ryan Reynolds will flex, am sure Sony will drop the director & his business like a hot potato, given the massive boxoffice of Deadpool.
I squirmed in discomfort watching this clip.
A master class in mean girl behavior.
And there’s no getting around it, denying it, or reframing it.
‘The internet is forever’ is applicable.
Edit to remark I’m noticing how SM accounts and algorithms can be manipulated and bought.
Just like Jlo and her cease/desists sent to tiktokers, the Blake/Ryan team are shadow banning and shutting down accounts.
And the purchase of bots is also out of control.
Blake did a interview recently where the interviewer asking serious about movie and the domestic violence . Blake answer to the questions is very flipped and dismissing where as when Justin is asked about the movie he very serious thoughtful about the subject. This is why there is such a backlash towards Blake this movie is about domestic abuse and she and Ryan were shoehorned all their side hustle into the promotion Ryan rewriting scenes Ryan interview Blake other love interesting In the movie. To top all off people were complaining about the movie not having triggers warnings and the way Blake and company were promoted the movie they had no idea it was about domestic violence had they have no idea they wouldn’t have seen the movie .
That interview was SO WEIRD. Like, what?? ICYMI the interviewer said (I’m paraphrasing) “it’s a rare, special thing for people to randomly meet a celebrity they admire, and they might be allowed a few meaningful moments or minutes with that person. I imagine your audience would want to approach you to share their own stories and experiences regarding domestic violence. If you had just a few moments with someone like that, what would you tell them?” And she looked angry and indignant and said (I found the exact quote), “Maybe asking for, like, my address, or my phone number. Or, like, location share?! I could just location-share you and then we could [meet up to chat later]!”
Ok, he fumbled the setup and his question was too long, but she had a visceral reaction to the *concept* of a stranger attempting human connection, and she seemed to think the question itself was invasive. It was so WEIRD. I get that she doesn’t owe anyone anything, but?? The interviewer was giving her the opportunity to display heartfelt authenticity, and her knee-jerk reply was basically “approach me at your peril, you creeps”
Blake actually publicized her plantation wedding in Martha Stewart Living magazine.
Ok I can see Blake being sensitive to her body changing and not liking the way the congratulations was phrased, it was a really weird way to congratulate her. However, that doesn’t excuse how she and the woman with her treated the reporter and body shamed her. It was mean and showed a lack of character.
And you can blame the pr team but the problem is your seeing that same behavior on this pr t
I understand why he hired a team. There was already an organised smear campaign going on against him by more powerful people. Was he supposed to disappear silently into the shadows. the thing is I think the internet doing it’s thing had already turned on blake because they saw all the bs during the promotion tour and if there is one thing a hate train is good at it’s digging up old receipts. From what I can see at least some swifties are trying to do damage control for blake trying to say that he body shamed her and how that must be triggering like it isn’t a work safety issue to make sure a lift is safe for all people involved. A sony chief just praised blake for speaking up about dv (which she very much avoided to do) so it’s clear that ryan made a call. I absolutely believe that they tried to do a barbenheimer moment mixed in with drop of don’t worry darling as a press strategy. Sucks to be the one under the bus though. This is going to blow up in Ryans face I think since he is the one with most reputation to lose.
I’m shocked by Blake’s response to the bump comment. I’m a mother and of course we’re not all the same but it was the most generic congratulations. I had people tell me “you must be having a boy because you’re huge” – didn’t bother me whatsoever but I could appreciate if a comment like THAT offended someone. “Congratulations on your little bump” to someone who has ANNOUNCED their pregnancy and is more than a couple of months in is SURELY fine!?!?!
Both her and Parker Posey’s behavior in this clip was just incredibly next level b*tchy.
Cafe soceity was marketed for its fashion too. The costumes were exclusively commissioned by Chanel to create 1930s glamor. There were numerous articles about it. So Blake acting like, its a question that is inappropriate is completely weird and pretentious when fashion was big focal point on purpose when the film was being promoted. I am sorry, I can’t give her benefit of the doubt when her atrocious behavior is in full display here and during the press run for It Ends With Us. Justin Baldony didn’t make her act like this a decade ago and this video has been up on YouTube at least a week before he hired PR crisis team. This is all on her.
Short clip posted by Kjersti Flaa a year ago on Brad Pitt. Given that he’s not a father of the year, and he’s a domestic abuser, you might figure her clip, given her support of Justin Baldoni would point that out? Nope.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hu2a4q-DrjM
Kersti Flaa sued the HFPA to get in and lost. Her Swedish boyfriend, Magnus Sundholm, was a member and was tossed. He, btw, works for a Swedish tabloid, Aftonbladet. I don’t know if it’s relevant, but it might be a good idea to point out that Justin Baldoni’s wife, Emily (nee Fuxler, was Foxler in Hollywood, now Baldoni) is Swedish. I can’t find very much on her at all, nor him, but given my experience as an expat, I would not be surprised if these people crossed paths.
BL was really nasty towards KF. However, she’s not coming across as a girl’s girl—her animosity (understandable) towards BL is personal. Right now, instead of writing about why JB’s colleague on Man Enough disappeared or why so many women are shunning JB, her response is to go after BL. And she’s not anti BP. I find that odd.
Something to keep an eye on: if either or both KF or her boyfriend MS are admitted into the HFPA or get special access to Sony.
she’s been very pro-Depp, so I’m wondering if there’s a connection between her and the PR team he hired. posted a video in 2022 hashtagged #justiceforjohnny and talked about how warm and sweet and attentive he was.
so while Blake was rude in this interview, I think it’s 100% the PR firm at work here.
Yeah, I’ve gone from they all jerks in this situation to I really believe that JB did something wrong. Like you, Arizona, I don’t much like BL. I avoid Booktok books. But I really don’t believe that BL and RR have more money and influence than Sony. I don’t believe that Jenny Slate and Liz Plank would shun JB without cause. I find it suspicious that I’m supposed to believe that the best messenger for DV (man to woman) is a guy. It’s odd that there’s this huge emotional appeal (easy to understand) to paint BL in a bad light when the question is why are so many people avoiding JB. His paycheck to Melissa Nathan is absolutely paying dividends for him.
She is just white girl privilege in person. Always was, always will. She is not that talented and lacks charisma on screen. So my guess is that what that drama is all about, to have some press for the movie.
Blake has always been an enigma to me. For one thing, on GG, she was the hot blonde from central casting, but why her? Of all the hot blondes? I never understood that. She’s otherwise unremarkable. Even Taylor Momsen was a more talented version of that trope, so much so that she quickly bored of being on the show. Then, Blake of all the cast is the one to rocket into A-List stardom? I mean yeah I know it’s not entirely unrelated to her power marriage, but even so. All the cast who aren’t mired in legal quandaries of their own making are doing well, but not like Blake.
She has wealthy, famous, and connected parents.
I guess she was well cast as Serena after all. (While I’m here I should point out I meant to say “legal quagmires.” There’s really no quandary surrounding Ed & Kelly’s legal troubles.)
I’m really starting to get why Leighton was described as “in a corner reading a book” on that set.
Blake is extremely pretty and she does have amazing hair and a great figure. I’m not surprised that she is the one that made it.
Not a great actress and her range is limited but the camera loves her and she generally comes across as likeable. And I really enjoyed it back in the day when she was the one who was able to play Leo.
I have found some things about her to be strange. Not just the Plantation wedding, but her claiming back in 2017 to have Cherokee ancestry. That’s not even original—there’s a term that was used at the time “Cherokee Princesses”. (And why is it always Cherokee ancestry?)
There’s a level of I’m special about Blake coupled with what seems like a lack of self awareness that kind of bugs me. Slightly smug and for me it’s off putting.
I think there has been some level of ambivalence about Blake (and her husband too) and that may be a big part of why people are piling on right now.
Doesn’t mean that Justin isn’t a jerk—I don’t know. But I sense that Blake owns at least part of this.
Good now everyone sees how Blake really is. I already had a feeling since the GG days that she can be a b&@tch.
Never could stand Blake Lively, even before her plantation wedding. But once she initially doubled down and mounted a vehement defense of hosting an event on grounds where so many generations of people suffered, toiled, and died, I was done with her.
Ok, I get it. Everyone hates Blake and for different reasons. I have never seen any of her projects, or his, but rush to judgment has been proven a bad idea. I’m waiting for all the evidence to drop before playing judge and jury.
That’s a whole lot of ego on show for a gal who literally plays Serena Van Der Woodsen in every role she floats or haggles her way into. The two of them together give off major mean girl energy. Maybe something particularly misogynistic had gone down earlier and they were in their feels about it, that’s still no reason to take it out on the woman doing the interview. If it’s such an issue to be asked about fashion by journalists, perhaps they could have included the journalist in the conversation as well.
Blake is the villain with a capital V here. She commissioned her husband’s creative partner from Deadpool Wolverine to cut her own vision of the film alongside the directors totally undermining Baldoni in his role as director. He had fought hard for the book rights to make and star in the film and she was chosen to act in it and be a producer. Her husband a power player in Hollywood was throwing his weight around and rewriting scenes by her own admission. Now ‘’celebrity friendly” People, is saying she took HER creative cut of the film and showed it to an audience 2 MONTHS before the film premiered. IMO this was an outwardly aggressive power move to get her way and she should be dragged over the coals for it. If any other actor/actress pulled this type of stunt with a director they would never work again! Baldoni hired crisis management to protect himself bc they are heavyweights in Hollywood (mainly Ryan). I feel bad for him.
I’ve noticed that B.L.’s brand of me-centric feminism has a pathological fatphobia at its core?? A couple weeks ago she made so much of wearing a Versace runway dress that Britney Spears had worn at age *20* (hmm), and she has seemingly waged all-out war on a guy for inadvertently making her feel “big” on set. I read somewhere that she is 5’10” and, although I don’t have a lot of insight into height dysphoria or what it means to be a tall woman, in my own case (short and fat), I’ve found that there is an immense societal pressure to present as “feminine” as possible, to “compensate” for my body type. I suspect that B.L. relies on thinness as a counterbalance to her height — because her job, as she sees it, is to be pretty and therefore lovable. (But she recently announced she would prefer to direct! She is so sick of being perceived, lol.)
Elsewhere someone pointed out that interviewer Kjersti Flaa is co-founder of the Academy of Fashion Arts and Sciences — Flaa is sincerely a fashion nerd!! — but B.L. is seemingly incapable of assuming positive intent. Her suspicion of others’ intentions makes it impossible to engage with her beyond a superficial level (her reaction to an interviewer’s recent question about DV was baffling). She seems miserable!!!