Journalist ‘bullied’ by Blake Lively speaks out amid Justin Baldoni sexual harassment suit
A journalist who came forward earlier this year claiming she was bullied by Blake Lively in 2016 is fighting claims she was part of an alleged smear campaign against the star.
Norwegian reporter Kjersti Flaa, 51, sat down with Lively and then-co-star Parker Posey and opened the conversation by congratulating the then 28-year-old on her “little baby bump.”
The Gossip Girl alum — fresh off announcing her second pregnancy with husband Ryan Reynolds — sarcastically responded, “Congratulations on your little baby bump.”
The exchange then faded into relative obscurity before making headlines last August when the entertainment reporter suddenly uploaded it to her YouTube after eight years.
Calling the clip “The Blake Lively Interview That Made Me Want to Quit My Job,” Flaa told DailyMail.com when she released the clip so that “people who behave badly in Hollywood, or anywhere else, get called out for it.” .’
Days ago, a legal complaint from Lively revealed there may have been a campaign to tarnish the 37-year-old’s reputation after she accused actor Justin Baldoni of misconduct on the set of “It Ends With Us.”
Private messages and emails obtained through a subpoena from the actress contain detailed information about the alleged plot, several of which were sent by Hollywood crisis management expert Melissa Nathan.
She was hired by Baldoni sometime before August 2, after Lively accused him of fostering an unprofessional work environment. Within days, there was online backlash against Lively – reportedly created by Nathan and publicist Jennifer Abel.
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Kjersti Flaa, a Norwegian journalist who came forward this year to claim she was bullied by Blake Lively, is now fighting back against claims she was part of an alleged smear campaign against the star who allegedly masterminded her It Ends With Us costar Justin Baldoni
Flaa, 51, spoke with Lively and then-co-star Parker Posey in 2016 and opened the conversation by congratulating the then-pregnant star on her “little baby bump.” The exchange faded into obscurity before making headlines in August when the reporter suddenly uploaded it
A New York Times the article published on Saturday revealed some of the messages, prompting a response from Flaa on both Threads and YouTube.
The pair of rebuttals attempted to push back on the claims made in her August repost was part of a “sinister retaliation tactic” by the Baldoni team, after Lively accused him and lead producer Jamey Heath of crossing physical boundaries and making sexual comments to her.
‘I just wanted to put it out there. I have nothing to do with Justin Baldoni and his smear campaign against Blake Lively,” Flaa said on Threads just hours after the Times report aired, revealing Lively’s lawsuit to the public.
“I see things starting to snowball and people starting to think I had something to do with the smear campaign against it [Lively],” she continued.
‘I also read the article in the New York Times this morning. I have read through the lawsuit and I see that there is so much dirty work going on behind the scenes.
“I just wanted to say I had nothing to do with it.”
Referring to reports indicating that Baldoni’s team was apparently waging a then-secret smear campaign against Lively in response to her accusations, Flaa added: I would never participate in something like that. That’s such an insult to me.’
She released a nine-minute video on YouTube in which she tried to distance herself from the alleged plot.
A New York Times article published Saturday revealed a slew of messages allegedly pointing to a “sinister retaliation” by Jason Baldoni after she accused him of misconduct on the set of “It Ends With Us.” This resulted in a response from Flaa the same day, both on Threads and YouTube
Private messages and emails obtained through a subpoena filed by the actress contain detailed information about the alleged plot, several sent by Hollywood crisis management expert Melissa Nathan
Nathan was hired at Baldoni sometime before August 2, after Lively accused him of fostering an unprofessional work environment. Within days, there was online backlash against Lively, with Nathan and Baldoni publicist Jennifer Abel reportedly pulling strings
The Gossip Girl star claims Baldoni created a toxic work environment during filming, including sexual harassment
“I don’t want to be a part of this,” she said. “I showed how Blake Lively behaved in my interview, and that was it.
‘When I read the text messages going back and forth between Justin Baldoni’s PR team, I was as shocked and appalled as anyone.”
The Times article, meanwhile, also pointed out how in 2022, in the midst of Johnny Depp’s legal battle with Amber Heard, Fla posted clips of her interviews with the actor with the tag #JusticeForJohnnyDepp.
Depp was a client of Nathan’s at the time, who appeared to be considering ways to minimize press coverage of Lively’s allegations ahead of the film’s Aug. 6 premiere.
During a conversation on August 2, a newly hired Nathan bragged about how she can “bury everyone,” in response to a text from Abel stating that Baldoni “wants to feel like her.” [Lively] can be buried’.
“Of course,” Nathan replied, adding, “We can’t write that we’re going to destroy her.”
Another back-and-forth that day appeared to have Nathan joking about killing Lively as the film’s premiere approached.
‘I also sent you a present. Don’t worry, I didn’t kill her and send her to your house in a box,” Nathan’s message read, to which Abel responded, “DAMN IT.”
The duo starred opposite each other earlier this year in the highly anticipated adaptation of Coleen Hoover’s popular novel of the same name.
Baldoni sometimes seemed to intervene by proposing his own tactics to discredit Lively
The reports indicate that the publicists are appearing to celebrate the minimization of reports of Lively’s allegations in the press
The messages show Baldoni suggesting how they could “flip the narrative” as more stories emerged
Later that day, Abel wrote how excited she was “to plant pieces this week about how horrible Blake is to work with,” with Baldoni even intervening when his staffers seemingly tried to discredit Lively.
When he got home from the film’s premiere in Manhattan, Baldoni asked the women, “What is the Tik Tok strategy.” I would like you to ONLY post to me about domestic violence and clips and why this film is important.”
Days before, a wave of speculation began surrounding what happened during the filming — led by a Hollywood Reporter story that explored the rift between Lively and director and star Baldoni.
Around that time, a flood of TikTok users noticed that the two stars weren’t pictured together at the premiere, and that they and other cast members weren’t following the actor-director on Instagram.
During the film’s rollout on August 9, Lively was hit with a host of accusations that she had been insensitive to domestic violence during filming.
Flaa’s video was published the next day, after which she told DailyMail.com that she ultimately decided to release the video because “it’s time that people who behave badly in Hollywood, or anywhere else, are called out for it.”
The texts show how the crisis management team worked to “change the narrative” by returning the reporting to Lively.
They also show the publicists celebrating after managing to minimize press coverage of Lively’s allegations, while reassuring a listening Baldoni that the stories emerging about him were not a threat.
One of the alleged strategies included the suggestion that Lively had created a “balance of power” on set by involving husband Ryan Reynolds.
In her lawsuit, Lively claims Baldoni showed her nude photos and videos of women, talked about an alleged past porn addiction and made sexual comments about the cast and crew.
Lively’s team, meanwhile, has maintained that the messages “demonstrate a multi-layered scheme that Mr. Baldoni and his team describe as ‘social manipulation’ designed to ‘destroy’ Ms. Lively’s reputation.”
The lawsuit claims the strategy began after she raised concerns about conditions on set.
“I hope my legal action will help pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak out about wrongdoing and help protect others who may be targeted,” she said in a statement.