Blake Lively is currently under heavy scrutiny for several reasons, including a resurfaced 2016 interview that many online are labeling as rude.
The actress is promoting her latest film “It Ends With Us,” an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s popular novel.
Recent online buzz has focused on behind-the-scenes drama between Lively and the film’s director, Justin Baldoni, circulating widely over the past week.
Fans have criticized Lively’s promotion of the film, accusing her of downplaying its focus on domestic violence.
Amid the ongoing tabloid drama surrounding “It Ends With Us,” Lively’s previous interviews are being re-examined, with fans scrutinizing her behavior.
A 2016 interview posted by Norwegian journalist Kjersti Flaa on her YouTube channel four days ago has particularly gained attention. Flaa titled the video, “The Blake Lively interview that made me want to quit my job.”
In the four-minute video, Flaa interviews Lively and Parker Posey about the Woody Allen film “Café Society,” which premiered in July 2016.
At the beginning of the interview, Flaa congratulates Lively on her recent pregnancy, saying, “congrats on your little bump.” Lively responds, “congrats on your little bump,” despite Flaa not being visibly pregnant.
One viewer noted in the YouTube comments, “You congratulated her on her pregnancy and she called you fat??”
Flaa then asks about the costumes in the film, which is set in the 1930s, saying, “Did you guys love wearing those kinds of clothes?”
As Posey begins to answer, Lively interrupts, saying, “Everyone wants to talk about the clothes, but I wonder if they would ask the men about the clothes?”
Despite Flaa’s reply stating that she would ask men the same question, Lively continues discussing the male co-stars’ costumes with Posey for about a minute, seemingly ignoring Flaa.
Viewers felt that Lively was deliberately excluding Flaa from the conversation, with one user commenting, “Oh wow, those girls were not even addressing the interviewer. Good for the interviewer for not getting sucked into their crass behavior.”
In the video’s description, Flaa wrote, “Sitting down with Blake Lively and her co-star Parker Posey for Cafe Society (2016) is the most uncomfortable interview situation I have ever experienced.”
“Is it not ok to congratulate someone on their pregnancy or to ask another woman about costumes she is wearing in a film?”
Viewers expressed sympathy for Flaa, with one writing, “Asking about wardrobe for a period piece movie is a normal question! I’m so sorry they treated you this way.”
Another user criticized Lively for starring in a Woody Allen film, stating, “Her saying that no one would ask the men the clothes question and trying to act like a good feminist while she’s in a Woody Allen movie. I have to laugh.”