Kjersti Flaa reveals infertility made Blake Lively’s 'nightmare' interview feel like “a bullet”
Kjersti Flaa has revealed her infertility after a “nightmare” interview with Blake Lively went viral. The journalist, who felt “almost paralyzed” during the 2016 interview, recalled her discomfort when she complimented Lively on her “little bump,” only to have Lively sarcastically throw the comment back at her.
“To be honest, it hurts because I obviously wasn’t pregnant and I could never get pregnant,” Flaa, 51, told the Daily Mail. “So to me that comment was like a bullet.”
Flaa admitted she didn’t know how to respond and felt “very uncomfortable,” wanting to leave the interview. She described the experience as making her feel like a “complete failure,” adding that she replayed the interview in her mind, trying to understand why Lively and co-star Parker Posey behaved that way.
The interview was about Lively, 36, and Posey, 55, discussing their film “Café Society.” Lively not only reprimanded Flaa for a fashion-related question but she and Posey largely ignored the journalist, focusing on each other instead. Flaa described the situation as “traumatizing,” feeling belittled and questioning if she wanted to conduct similar interviews in the future.
The clip of the interview sparked backlash on social media, with users condemning Lively’s “uncalled for” behavior. One viewer criticized Lively for her rudeness, while another called her “condescending.”
Lively has also faced criticism for her 2017 DP/30 interview, where she questioned a reporter’s familiarity with her film “All I See Is You” and suggested he needed a “pop quiz.” While Lively has not yet addressed Flaa’s comments, a source told People that Lively was “annoyed” by the “little bump” remark, calling it “truly such a rude statement.”
Additionally, Lively has been criticized for promoting her cocktails and haircare products while doing press for her new film “It Ends With Us,” which deals with domestic violence. Bethenny Frankel criticized Lively for “trying to triple- and quadruple-dip” into various business ventures, comparing her approach to Jennifer Lopez’s “This Is Me … Now: A Love Story” press tour. In response, Lively subtly addressed the backlash by posting resources for domestic violence victims.