Reporter Caught Up in Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni Drama Says 'The New York Times' Never Reached Out to Her
Kjersti Flaa, the Norwegian journalist at the center of controversy surrounding Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, has hit back at reports from The New York Times.
Flaa, who previously posted a viral video of her 2016 interview with Lively, says the Times never contacted her before publishing a story that tied her to a smear campaign against the actress.
In the now-infamous interview, Flaa congratulated Lively on her pregnancy, only to have the actress respond by mocking Flaa for what she mistakenly thought was a pregnancy bump.
Flaa's clip, which resurfaced surrounding the premiere of Lively's new film It Ends With Us, sparked heated reactions online. Some criticized Flaa's comment on Lively's body, though Flaa insists she was merely referring to the actress's publicly announced pregnancy.
Kjersti Flaa Controversy
In a recent conversation with The Ankler, Flaa discussed how her name came up in Lively's lawsuit against a smear campaign. Flaa says she was blindsided when she saw her name mentioned, and she felt the reporting was unfair.
"My name is just printed in the lawsuit, and there's not really any context around it," she explained. "They fed it to The New York Times. They knew I had nothing to do with the campaign, but they still pushed it."
Flaa also criticized The New York Times for not reaching out to her for comment before running the story.
"It was so shady to me that they never contacted me," she said. "Especially with a big outlet like The New York Times, I would expect that."
Flaa further explained that she contacted the Times directly, only to be told they couldn't correct the article, but would add a note that she reached out. However, she was frustrated that the damage had already been done.
The journalist took issue with how the story was framed, claiming it was biased in favor of Lively. "This whole campaign was orchestrated, and it seemed like everything was fed by her side," Flaa remarked. "It felt very one-sided."
In the end, Flaa feels the situation has been damaging to her career. "This is the worst thing that ever happened to me in my career," she said. "I feel like The New York Times owes me an apology, but I know I'll never get one."
Blake Lively Lawsuit
The legal conflict began when the Gossip Girl star filed a civil rights complaint on December 20, alleging that Baldoni sexually harassed her and created a toxic work environment during the production of their movie It Ends With Us, where he served as both director and co-star.
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On New Year's Eve, she took legal action against Baldoni for the second time, as well as naming his publicists Jennifer Abel and Melissa Nathan as defendants, along with Baldoni's production company, Wayfarer Studios. Lively claims her co-star had orchestrated a smear campaign against her to ruin her image.
"As alleged in Ms. Lively's federal Complaint, Wayfarer and its associates have violated federal and California state law by retaliating against her for reporting sexual harassment and workplace safety concerns," the attorneys said. "Now, the defendants will answer for their conduct in federal court."
She is seeking "punitive" and "compensatory" damages, alongside requesting a jury trial.
Lively alleges that the defendants have inflicted upon her "mental pain and anguish," as well as "severe and serious emotional distress" and "lost wages."
Baldoni's Suit Against the Times
In response to the allegations, Baldoni launched a $250 million libel lawsuit against The New York Times, the publication that first reported on Lively's initial complaint just a few weeks ago with the article, "'We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine."
The lawsuit accuses the Times of relying "almost entirely" on what it describes as "Lively's unverified and self-serving narrative," and "promissory fraud and breach of implied-in-fact contract."
According to the actor's lawyer, "The New York Times cowered to the wants and whims of two powerful 'untouchable' Hollywood elites, disregarding journalistic practices and ethics once befitting of the revered publication by using doctored and manipulated texts and intentionally omitting texts which dispute their chosen PR narrative."
Claiming its commitment to journalistic integrity, The New York Times reaffirmed its stance in a recent declaration, refuting the accusations and expressing its determination to "vigorously defend against the lawsuit." Lively is not named as a defendant in this suit.
