The reporter who was “humiliated” by Blake Lively claimed the “rude” interview left her “terrified” of speaking to other celebrities – and revealed who the star was who “saved the day” by treating her kindly afterwards.
Norwegian journalist Kjersti Flaa, 51, recently posted a clip of an “awkward” chat he had with the Gossip Girl alum, 36, in 2016, which went viral, sparking an immense backlash against Blake.
During the interview, the actress made a sarcastic comment about Kjersti’s “baby bump” after congratulating Blake, who was then pregnant, on her impending arrival, but the journalist was not expecting it.
Now, she has revealed how the ‘horrible incident’ completely shattered her confidence and left her feeling ‘nervous’ when interviewing stars for a long time afterwards.
‘“To be honest with you, it took me a while to get over it,” she shared in a new video uploaded to her YouTube account this week.
Reporter Kjersti Flaa (left), who was “humiliated” by Blake Lively (right), claimed the “rude” interview left her “terrified” to speak to other celebrities.
‘It affected me for a while, I was nervous when I interviewed other people after that.
“I blamed myself for it for a long time because I felt like I had done or said something wrong. That’s why I waited so long (to post it).”
Kjersti recalled having to speak to Kristen Stewart just hours after the interview with Blake, but said the Twilight alum was “so sweet” and “saved the day.”
“I want to thank Kristen Stewart, who was the person I interviewed after the horrible incident,” she continued.
“He was the most wonderful person to interview. He saved my day. I was so scared going into that interview because I had just experienced what he had been through, so the fact that he treated me (so kindly)…
“She was so sweet that I’m very happy I interviewed her afterwards.”
In the end, Kjersi said she hoped sharing the interview would help others who had been victims of harassment in the past.
“It is not right to behave like this and I think it is necessary to denounce it,” he said.
Kjersti (seen), 51, recently posted a clip of an “awkward” chat she had with the Gossip Girl alum, 36, in 2016, and it went viral.
Now, she has revealed how the “horrible incident” completely shattered her confidence and left her feeling “nervous” when interviewing stars for a long time afterwards.
‘A lot of people could relate to this situation. Many women have contacted me.
‘I feel like a lot of people have experienced something not exactly like that, but similar, like that mean girl energy from someone or you felt excluded or bullied.
‘Most of the time this happens when we are younger, but as you can see in this video, it also happens when you are an adult.’
She noted that most parents tell their children to apologize when they catch them being mean to someone else, but she felt that didn’t apply to celebrities.
Kjersti recalled having to speak to Kristen Stewart just hours after the Blake interview, saying the Twilight alum was “so sweet” and “saved the day.”
“Most parents would tell their kids that if they’re bullying someone, ‘Go and apologize to that kid right now.’ But in this situation, the opposite happened,” she added.
“Nobody came out to apologize. (Her team) probably told her: ‘Don’t come out, don’t react, don’t do anything, we’ll take care of this for you. We’ll just say it’s the journalist’s fault and that you were offended by her and then we’ll plant other positive stories.”
‘I think that’s the problem in Hollywood and in many other places, people don’t acknowledge their mistakes because they’re afraid of it coming out wrong or making them look bad and I think it’s time to change that.
“I hope this video I posted can help people recognize their mistakes.”
Blake has been embroiled in controversy in recent weeks as rumors of an ongoing feud between her and her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni continue to make headlines.
Amid the drama, award-winning journalist Kjersti posted the old interview on her YouTube channel, which she titled ‘The Blake Lively Interview That Made Me Want to Quit My Job.’
“First of all, congratulations on your little baby bump,” Content Now TV founder Kjersti gushed during the chat.
“Congratulations on your little baby bump,” Blake replied, as the interviewer laughed nervously.
Kjersi said she hoped sharing the interview would help others who have been victims of harassment in the past. Blake was spotted earlier this month
The actress has been embroiled in controversy in recent weeks as rumors of an ongoing feud between her and her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni continue to make headlines.
After the moment went viral, Kjersti exclusively told DailyMail.com that Blake’s response was especially painful because she is unable to conceive.
“(His comment) left me almost paralyzed. It really hurts me because obviously I wasn’t pregnant and I could never get pregnant so for me that comment was like a bullet,” she shared.
‘I didn’t know how to react. I felt very uncomfortable throughout the entire interview and all I wanted to do was leave and get out of there as quickly as I could.
“I felt like a complete failure. After the interview, I was left replaying the interview in my head, trying to figure out what I had said or done to make them behave that way. It didn’t make any sense to me.”
She said Blake made her feel “belittled and ignored” throughout the interview, and that ultimately led her to question whether she “wanted to do these types of interviews again.”
“It was a very traumatic experience for me. I was there to do a job and they made sure it was as difficult as possible for me,” he added.
“I was there to promote a movie. I was invited to meet them. I certainly didn’t feel that way.
‘I felt belittled and ignored and it made me question whether I ever wanted to do these types of interviews again.
“It took me a while to get over it and get my confidence back.”