Blake Lively Reporter Says She Was ‘Traumatized’ by 2016 Interview

Nearly a decade after it happened, that Blake Lively interview is still causing damage — and the journalist at the center of it wants people to know exactly how bad it really was.

Kjersti Flaa, the Norwegian entertainment reporter whose 2016 sit-down with Lively became one of the most talked-about moments of the entire It Ends With Us legal saga, is speaking out in detail about what went down that day — and she’s not holding back. “It was a really traumatizing experience,” Flaa told Page Six in an exclusive interview Monday. “I was just in shock.”

The interview in question took place during the press tour for Café Society, where Flaa was sitting down with Lively — who was pregnant at the time — and co-star Parker Posey. When Flaa congratulated Lively on her “little bump,” the actress fired back with a pointed, “Congrats on your little bump.” Lively was pregnant. Flaa was not. And Flaa has since revealed that she is unable to have children, making the comment land even harder than it appeared on camera.

It didn’t stop there. When Flaa tried to pivot and ask about the film’s costumes, Lively shot back, “Everyone wants to talk about the clothes, but I wonder if they would ask the men about the clothes” — and then proceeded to turn to Posey and have a full conversation between themselves, effectively freezing Flaa out of her own interview.

“I was just sitting there like, ‘Oh,’” Flaa recalled. “I didn’t really understand all that. And then when I asked the next question about the costumes, [they] turned to each other and just ignored me. That’s when I started feeling like, ‘Oh my God. They’re actually doing this.’”

Why Flaa Didn’t Walk Out

Flaa said she was acutely aware of the power dynamic at play and felt she couldn’t react — even as the situation became increasingly humiliating.

“As a journalist, you always have to take the high road,” she said. “So when I was sitting there, I couldn’t react to what they were doing to me in a sense of like leaving or talking back to them or doing anything like that, because I knew if I did, then I would never get opportunities like that again.”

The fear of being blacklisted was real. “Not that I necessarily wanted to interview Blake again, but, you know, she has a publicist, and then they talk and then they blacklist you. That’s how it works, right?” Flaa said. “So I just sat there and then I started getting more and more frustrated and angry and upset and all these emotions because I was like, I couldn’t believe they were actually doing it.”

She added that she was “publicly humiliated” by the bump comment specifically — and that Lively never once reached out to make it right. “Blake had every opportunity to right this wrong because she clearly knew very well that this interview existed and got out there and nothing happened,” Flaa said.

From Viral Clip to Courtroom Subpoena

The interview sat relatively dormant for years before resurfacing in 2024 — right in the middle of the firestorm surrounding Lively’s lawsuit against It Ends With Us director and co-star Justin Baldoni. Lively sued Baldoni in December 2024, alleging sexual harassment and retaliation. Baldoni fired back with a $400 million countersuit accusing Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds of defamation, extortion, and orchestrating a smear campaign against him. Both sides denied wrongdoing.

Flaa was subpoenaed by Lively’s team, and Lively’s lawyers later moved to block Flaa from testifying entirely — arguing the jury would “draw adverse conclusions about her character” based on the viral clip. Baldoni’s team pushed back, calling Flaa’s testimony “highly relevant” and denying any role in amplifying the video.

Flaa says she had receipts. “I was the only person who had access to the analytics and could see what really happened to that video,” she told the Daily Mail. “YouTube shows you where all the traffic is coming from. I was going to reveal a lot of things that I’m sure they were not happy about.”

She never got the chance. On May 4, Lively and Baldoni reached a last-minute settlement — two weeks before the case was set to go to trial. No money changed hands. A source told Page Six that both the magistrate and the judge had been encouraging the parties to reach an agreement to avoid what was shaping up to be a long, drawn-out trial.

Flaa is openly disappointed. “I was looking forward to it. I was looking forward to telling my side of the story and support what I believe very strongly is the truth here,” she said. She also had a theory about why Lively pulled the plug: “She knew she had a weak case. I think she was advised by everyone to let it go. It would have been so humiliating for her to lose and you never want to look like a liar in front of a jury.”

For what it’s worth, Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman made a similar argument, telling TMZ that Lively settled because she “was scared to take the witness stand” and that a trial “would have exposed her lies.” Lively’s legal team, meanwhile, called the settlement “a resounding victory,” arguing that by settling, Baldoni and the individual defendants now face personal liability for “abusing the legal system to silence and intimidate” their client.

The scorecard heading into settlement was complicated. Baldoni’s $400 million countersuit was tossed in June 2025. Last month, the judge threw out 10 of Lively’s 13 allegations — including sexual harassment, conspiracy, and defamation. Lively’s team is now pursuing legal fees, though a judge recently rejected a request to file additional supporting documents before ruling on the matter.

The Birthing Scene Dispute

Flaa isn’t the only one stepping forward with a competing account of events. Adam Mondschein, the actor who played OBGYN Dr. Dunbar in It Ends With Us — and who is a longtime friend of Baldoni’s — is pushing back hard against Lively’s characterization of the film’s birthing scene.

In Lively’s complaint, she described the scene as a “violative birthing scene for which he cast a friend” and alleged that Mondschein’s “face and hands were in close proximity to her nearly nude genitalia,” calling it “invasive and humiliating.” She also implied Mondschein was unqualified for the role.

Mondschein, who holds a master’s in fine arts from UCLA and has at least ten acting credits on IMDb, takes serious issue with that. “She’s pretending to have a baby, but she’s fully covered,” he told Page Six. Lively was wearing a prosthetic belly, a hospital gown, and black shorts during filming. “There’s nothing to see. Nothing to look at,” he said.

As for what he was actually focused on? “I’m holding a real baby off screen, covered in raspberry jelly and cream cheese” before lifting the infant into frame. “Even in the scene that you see that made it into the film, you see me smiling at a baby. The cutest baby whose parents are there in the room with the crew.”

Mondschein also disputed that Lively had no power in the room that day. “She’s a producer. She inserted herself in every creative decision,” he said. “Nothing happened that she wasn’t in charge of. She came into the room as the most powerful person in the room. She is not a wilting flower. She is very confident and firm.”

He’s been defending Baldoni publicly across multiple platforms — including an appearance on Piers Morgan’s Uncensored — and told Page Six that Baldoni’s original intention in taking on the project was to shine a light on domestic violence. “He was going to usher forth her book to a whole new audience… he wanted these conversations about domestic violence, the responsibility that men have to have this conversation, not just the victims, not just the women. And so that was his whole drive.”

Sources close to Baldoni tell Radar Online that he’s now weighing a tell-all to share his side of the story publicly. Mondschein said his friend “really wants to tell his story, and he deserves to be heard.” Another source added, “Justin feels vindicated by how much of the case changed before settlement talks began.”

What Happens Next for Blake

Hours after the settlement was announced on May 4, Lively showed up at the Met Gala in a colorful archival Versace gown from 2006, carrying a custom Judith Leiber bag featuring her children’s artwork. The move raised eyebrows across the board.

Flaa, for one, was not impressed. “It’s mind-blowing to me that she would [attend the Met Gala despite everything going on],” she told the Daily Mail. “I think she wanted to clog the internet with stories about her at the Met Gala and what she was wearing, it was an attempt to try to drown all the negative news.” She went further: “In her reality, she still cannot believe that people don’t like her. That’s why she went to the Met Gala… She really truly believes this… that’s the tragic thing in all of this.”

Baldoni’s attorney Freedman also weighed in on the Gala appearance, telling Entertainment Tonight: “I don’t know that it was the wisest choice. If that’s what she needs to heal, then more power to her.”

Lively’s own attorney Sigrid McCawley pushed back on the criticism, telling ET that the appearance was deliberate and defiant. “That’s exactly what Blake is intent on doing. We wouldn’t want any woman in that position to be silenced. They should be out living their life,” McCawley said, adding that Lively “was incredibly brave to stand up for herself in that moment.”

Ryan Reynolds, who was in Bermuda competing in the Apex Group Bermuda Sail Grand Prix with his BONDS Flying Roos SailGP team while Lively attended the Gala solo, made his feelings known the following Sunday with a Mother’s Day tribute on Instagram Stories. He shared photos of the two of them together — hugging in ponchos by a waterfall, sitting side by side in Adirondack chairs — and wrote: “I appreciate this mother beyond measure. She is kind. She is fearless. She’s the absolute love of my life — and to our four little kids, she’s the life of their love.”

Reynolds’s rep had previously told Puck that when it came to his wife, Reynolds “feels like he wasn’t angry enough” — and that he “passionately believes in and will stand up for the basic right to a safe workplace free of harassment and retaliation for his wife and others. Then, now, and always.”

As for Flaa, she’s not ruling out a Lively comeback — but she has a very specific prescription for it. “My advice to her would be to stay low for a couple of years if she wants a chance to come back and do anything in Hollywood again,” the reporter said. “She is toxic and right now the public is not ready to take her back.”

Lively and Posey’s reps did not respond to requests for comment.