‘She did something pretty amazing’: Journalist reveals Anne Hathaway apologized for rude resurfaced interview
Shortly after journalist Kjersti Flaa shared a rude interview with Anne Hathaway that was giving Blake Lively vibes, she revealed that Hathaway reached out to personally apologize for the incident.
Flaa went viral in August after she shared a never-before-seen interview with Lively. She titled the video “The Blake Lively interview that made me want to quit my job.” The video especially gained attention because it was released amid the It Ends with Us drama. In the video, Flaa congratulates Lively, who had just publicly announced her pregnancy, on her “little bump,” only for Lively to retort, “Congrats on your little bump,” even though Flaa was not pregnant and is infertile. The interview only goes downhill from there as Lively and her Café Society co-star, Parker Posey, talk to each other instead of the interviewer and seem to make a point not to look at Flaa.
Flaa’s video helped raise awareness of how celebrities treat journalists and non-celebrities. She later revealed that rude interviews like these happen more than people think, but the tapes may be confiscated, or the journalist may feel too embarrassed to publish them. When she posted an old rude interview with Hathaway, many feared the Lively situation was repeating itself. However, the story of Hathaway’s interview had a much different ending than Lively’s.
Anne Hathaway apologizes for rude interview
Recently, Flaa shared several past interviews with the cast of Les Misérables. Since the movie was a musical, she suggested that she and each interviewee sing the first question and answer in the interview, which Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, and Eddie Redmayne agreed to good-naturedly. Hathaway, though, quickly responded, “Oh, I won’t be doing that, but you’re more than welcome to sing.” Of course, she had the right to decline if she wasn’t comfortable with that. However, the interview grows more uncomfortable when Flaa launches into several thoughtful and fun questions, which Hathaway largely dismisses.
Flaa asks her whether she thinks love during the time of Les Misérables is different from love today, to which Hathaway simply responds, “No.” The journalist waits for her to expand on her answer, but she doesn’t. Flaa then asks if Hathaway remembers her first crush, to which she again responds, “Um. No.” Looking uncomfortable, Flaa then ends the interview.
Social media users quickly began resharing the interview and labeling Hathaway “the next Blake Lively” while criticizing her rude behavior. While some commenters acknowledged that Hathaway may have been having a bad day or was tired, others pointed out that’s not an excuse to be rude to a kind, hardworking journalist. Similarly, even if the questions weren’t perfect, Hathaway could see the journalist was trying, and it wouldn’t have cost her anything to simply cooperate. Fortunately, Flaa posted a follow-up video revealing Hathaway had a wonderful response to the resurfaced interview.
The journalist explained that Hathaway sent her “a long email” via her publicist to apologize for giving her an “awful interview.” She also explained some things going on in her personal life that impacted her behavior that day, although Flaa chose not to share them to protect the actor’s privacy. Not only that, but Hathaway invited Flaa to interview her for her new movie. Flaa accepted the apology and commented that she thought it was “amazing” that Hathaway had taken the time to do that. The journalist thanked Hathaway from “the bottom of her heart,” emphasizing to viewers how powerful a little bit of kindness was.
The apology demonstrates how Flaa’s interviews truly are making a difference. Her resurfaced interviews are pushing celebrities to show accountability and encouraging grace for journalists and celebrities because you never know what they’re going through. Meanwhile, Hathaway has set a wonderful example for other celebrities to follow. At once, any criticism of Hathaway quickly dissipated as viewers commended her for doing the right thing. However, criticism of Lively has persisted since she never apologized to Flaa or publicly addressed her interview.
Celebrities can have bad days and act in ways they regret. However, wholly dismissing such behavior as just “a bad day” is difficult unless one actually demonstrates regret and genuinely tries to make amends for their actions.
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