Blake Lively exhibited some Regina George energy in an old interview.
A 2016 conversation in which the “Gossip Girl” alum displayed passive-aggressive behavior toward a reporter is making the rounds on social media this week — and many are describing Lively as a “mean girl.”
Although the discussion was conducted years ago, video of the interview was uploaded to Norwegian journalist Kjersti Flaa’s YouTube account earlier this month, amid an onslaught of backlash that Lively has received thanks to her weird press tour for the new film “It Ends With Us.”
In a description for the video — titled “The Blake Lively interview that made me want to quit my job” — Flaa wrote that it was “the most uncomfortable interview situation I have ever experienced.”
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In addition to Lively, the interview also featured fellow actor Parker Posey, with the two promoting Woody Allen’s 2016 film, “Café Society.”
In the video, Flaa seems to irritate Lively right out of the gate by congratulating the actor on her pregnancy.
“First of all, congrats on your little bump,” Flaa says.
“Congrats on your little bump!” Lively immediately shoots back.
“What about my bump?” Posey asks jokingly while rubbing her butt.
Lively then looks over at Posey with a smile, and the two briefly engage in a silly conversation about “bumps,” appearing to purposely exclude Flaa. Meanwhile, Flaa just sits there and lets out an awkward laugh.
Posey then glances over at Flaa, as if she nearly forgot that someone else was in the room, and asks in a serious tone: “You like the movie? Are you a Woody Allen fan?”
The question seems somewhat thorny. Allen was receiving renewed criticism at the time due to a 2014 open letter that Dylan Farrow, his adoptive daughter, published in The New York Times. In it, Farrow accused the director of sexually assaulting her as a child and chastised actors who continued to work with him.
Despite this, Flaa soldiers on and gives a fairly diplomatic response.
“I love most of his movies,” she says. “And this one was so, like, visually amazing. Did you guys love wearing those kind of clothes?”
It should be noted that “Café Society” is set in 1930s Hollywood, and the costumes featured are pretty glamorous.
“Everyone wants to talk about the clothes,” Lively responds while looking at Posey, rather than Flaa. “I wonder if they would ask the men about the clothes.”
“I would,” Flaa responds, but both Lively and Posey seem to ignore her.
The actors then proceed to have a one-minute conversation — a significant part of the four-minute video — discussing various aspects of their male co-stars’ costumes in excruciating detail. The entire time, Lively barely looks at Flaa, as she sits there like a child who just got sidelined from a lunchroom conversation.
Later, Lively makes some light eye contact with Flaa after the reporter asks her about “the biggest misconceptions about fame and Hollywood in general.”
“The idea that people think they know you because of how intrusive media is these days,” Lively replies to a member of the media, who minutes earlier made reference to her pregnancy. “People care so much more about your personal life than they do your work. And if you aren’t open with your personal life, then they just make it up for you and share it for you.”
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Although it’s unclear exactly when Flaa conducted the interview, “Cafe Society” was released in the U.S. on Aug. 5, 2016, and Lively had confirmed her pregnancy on “Late Night” two months prior to the film’s release.
But Lively seemed a little miffed when host Seth Meyers broached the topic by congratulating her on having “a baby on the way.”
“What makes you say that?” Lively said on Meyers’ show. “You know you don’t ever say that to a woman.”
Before her “Late Night” appearance, multiple outlets had reported that Lively was pregnant but cited unnamed sources rather than Lively herself.
Lively confirmed her fourth pregnancy in 2022 — after much media speculation — with a pointed Instagram post.
“Here are photos of me pregnant in real life so the 11 guys waiting outside my home for a 🦄 sighting will leave me alone,” she wrote. “You freak me and my kids out.”
Regardless of how Lively feels about questions on her pregnancies — or her body in general — many social media users did not like the way that she and Posey acted toward Flaa in the icy interview. Yet some suggested their behavior was somewhat warranted.
To see how people reacted to the video, just scroll down.