Following the widespread dissemination of her "nightmare" interview with Blake Lively, journalist Kjersti Flaa denied any involvement in the purported smear campaign that Justin Baldoni was allegedly conducting against Blake Lively.
"I have nothing to do it. I would never take part in anything like that. That is such an insult to me," Flaa posted to Threads on Saturday, per Page Six.
"I don't want a part of this. I posted a video [showing] how Blake Lively was behaving in my interview and that's it," she continued, referring to her resurfaced 2016 interview with the "Gossip Girl" alum.
When Flaa heard the bombshell complaint that Lively, 37, filed against Baldnoni, 40, she stated that she was "shocked and appalled." Lively claimed that Baldnoni sexually harassed her when she was working on the set of "It Ends With Us" and that he later planned a smear campaign to harm her career.
According to Y! Entertainment, after being mentioned in the piece that was published in the New York Times regarding Lively's complaint, the reporter also went on YouTube to further address the allegations that she was part of the purported smear campaign that was being made by the former "Jane the Virgin" star.
Her re-sharing of her "uncomfortable" interview with Lively around the same time that the film was released in August was a "coincidence," according to Flaa.
The video was uploaded by her after she had finished watching the film, expressing that she did not enjoy it. She had a negative experience with Blake Lively. As a result, she was no longer as concerned about being canceled, and she decided to release the video.
After the "Age of Adaline" star commented on her "little bump" and appeared to ignore the reporter during the section, Flaa became even more adamant in her assertion that her interview with Lively and her co-star Parker Posey from "Café Society" in 2016 "wasn't a great interview experience at all."
Lively submitted a complaint against Baldoni on Friday, stating that there was an "all-hands" meeting concerning the actor's behavior on the set of the domestic violence thriller that was adapted from Colleen Hoover's best-selling book. Lively's complaint was filed against Baldoni.
Baldoni is accused of showing Lively nude photographs of women, discussing his history of "porn addiction," and talking about the genitalia of the cast and crew members, as stated in the lawsuit.
According to the allegations, he was instructed to refrain from bringing up those subjects or discussing Lively's "weight" or "dead father" during the meeting.
In response to the charges, Bryan Freedman, an attorney for Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, declined to comment.
Freedman asserted that Baldoni hired a public relations crisis manager over the summer after the actress from "Simple Favor" made "multiple demands and threats," including "threatening to not show up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release if her demands were not met."
Fans observed in August that Lively and Baldoni were not advertising "It Ends With Us" together, which sparked the beginning of rumors that the two were involved in a dispute with one another.
The work environment on set was described as "extremely difficult" by many sources who spoke to Page Six at the time. Baldoni, who was also the director, was responsible for creating this situation.
Fans pointed out that Lively did not address the concerns of domestic abuse that were depicted in the movie. Instead, she promoted her haircare line, Blake Brown, and her alcohol brand, Betty Booze. Lively, on the other hand, came under fire while she was performing promotional activities for the film.
Business Times has reached out to Blake Lively for comments.
