A journalist didn’t want to react to Blake Lively’s unpleasant comments during an interview for fear of being “blacklisted” by the film industry.
In an exclusive interview with Page Six this week, entertainment reporter Jelsti Flair reflected on Lively’s resurfaced sit-down with actress Parker Posey in 2016.
“As a journalist, you always have to take the high road, don’t you?” she said. “So as I sat there, I couldn’t walk away or talk back or do anything like that to what they were doing to me, because I knew that if I did, I would never get that opportunity again.”
While Flair said she doesn’t necessarily want the chance to interview the Gossip Girl actress, she said Lively works with people in high places.
“You know, she has a publicist. And they talk, and they blacklist you,” Flair theorized. “That’s how it works, right?”
The author said he simply bit his tongue, fearing he would be barred from future interview opportunities.
“So I just sat there, and then I just started getting more and more frustrated and angry and upset and I was like, I can’t believe they’re actually doing that. I was just shocked.”
Flair pointed out that Lively had an unfair advantage over her during the awkward conversation.
“Journalists who wish to continue doing this type of interview must accept these conditions,” she said.
In 2016, Ms. Flair interviewed Ms. Lively and Ms. Posey while they were promoting their movie “Café Society.” Lively was pregnant at the time, so Flair congratulated her on her “little bump,” to which Lively shot back, “Congratulations on your little bump.”
Flair was surprised and tried to continue the interview by asking about the movie’s attire. But Lively appeared to be offended by the question, retorting with applause: “Everyone wants to talk about clothes, but do you ask men about clothes?”
From there, Lively and Parker continued to talk to each other without letting Flair interject.
“I just sat there like, ‘Oh,’ … I didn’t really understand it all,” Flair told Us. “And when I asked the next question about the costumes,[they]turned to each other and ignored me. That’s when I started to be like, ‘Oh my god, they’re actually doing this.'”
Flair called the interview a “really traumatic experience.”
“I just sat there and at first I thought, wow, this is really uncomfortable,” she said.
Lively reportedly never reached out to apologize after Flair republished the video in 2024, despite online backlash.
“Blake had every opportunity to right this wrong, because she knew full well this interview existed, so she went out there and nothing happened,” Flair said.
Instead, Lively summoned Fuller during her legal battle with “It Ends with Us” co-star Justin Baldoni. (Ms. Lively sued the director in December 2024 for sexual harassment and other allegations, and Ms. Baldoni responded with a $400 million countersuit accusing her and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, of defamation, extortion, and a smear campaign. Both denied wrongdoing.)
Baldoni’s counterclaim was dismissed in June 2025, but Baldoni won a victory last month when a judge dismissed 10 of 13 claims against Lively, including sexual harassment, conspiracy and defamation.
Last week, Lively and Baldoni announced they had reached a settlement. Neither party made a penny in the legal battle, but each had to pay millions of dollars in legal fees.
Because the case does not go to trial, Flair said she missed the opportunity to speak on the stand.
“I was kind of looking forward to punching holes in everything,” she said.
Representatives for Lively and Posey did not immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.
