Anne Hathaway showed Blake Lively just what to do to swerve public backlash

• Anne Hathaway apologized to the journalist Kjersti Flaa for being difficult in a 2012 interview.
• An uncomfortable interview Flaa did with Blake Lively in 2016 went viral in August.
• Experts say Hathaway's approach enhances her brand — something Lively could learn from.

Anne Hathaway just gave a master class in swerving public backlash — and Blake Lively should take notes, public-relations experts said.

Kjersti Flaa — the journalist whose 2016 interview with Lively went viral after she posted it to YouTube in August — said Hathaway recently apologized for "giving me an awful interview" during the press junket for "Les Misérables" in 2012.

In the interview , which Flaa shared on TikTok on Monday, the actor answered questions with short, one-word responses and refused to play a game that involved singing one of her answers.

In an Instagram video posted Tuesday, Flaa said Hathaway's publicist sent her a "personal note," in which the actor apologized.

Flaa said Hathaway explained "what she was going through" during that time in her life, the details of which Flaa didn't share.

She added that Hathaway invited her to do another interview when her next film is released.

"It was very brave of her to reach out to me like this, and it was definitely the right thing to do," Flaa told Business Insider in an email.

PR experts told BI that Hathaway's swift response should minimize potential backlash and strengthen her reputation as a relatable and genuine celebrity.

Jake Holyoak, a PR and crisis communications expert, said Hathaway's "authentic" reply would "enhance" her personal brand.

"People respect that level of humility and openness, and it keeps her relatable to her audience," Holyoak, the founder of the PR company One March , said.

Yely Kopan, a PR consultant and a former creative director at Input Communications, told BI that Hathaway's note to Flaa was "a smart move" because it showed she was willing "to take accountability, even years later."

Hathaway's response to Flaa was much different than Blake Lively's, who remained silent after her 2016 interview with Flaa surfaced over the summer. Lively and other cast members were promoting Woody Allen's "Café Society."

In the interview, which has more than 5.3 million views on YouTube, Lively snapped at Flaa after the reporter congratulated her on "your little bump."

"Congrats on your little bump," Lively responded. (Flaa was not pregnant at the time.)

Flaa told The Daily Mail that Lively's comments had been hurtful because she was unable to get pregnant.

Hathaway is no stranger to online criticism

Flaa didn't share the personal circumstances Hathaway alluded to in her note.

When "Les Misérables" was released in 2012, Hathaway was at the height of her fame and a frequent target of online trolling.

The film was a box-office success, grossing more than $441 million worldwide and earning a total of $148.8 million in the US, Playbill reported.

In 2013, Hathaway received an Oscar for best supporting actress for her role as Fantine in the musical film.

Around the same time, the actor's reputation took a hit after she received a wave of social-media criticism, dubbed " Hathahate ." The star was called out for her appearance, her energetic personality, and her award-show speeches, which some people said seemed too rehearsed, emotional, or self-involved.

"A lot of people wouldn't give me roles because they were so concerned about how toxic my identity had become online," Hathaway told Vanity Fair in March.

Despite the criticism, Hathaway continued acting, and in 2015, Forbes reported that she was the ninth-highest-paid female actor, with a net worth of $12 million.

These days, Hathaway is busier than ever, having starred in "The Idea of You" and "Mother's Instinct" earlier this year. She announced on Saturday that she'd signed on to produce "The Princess Diaries 3."

Lively could learn from Hathaway, experts say

Lively has not publicly commented on the resurfaced interview with Flaa. Representatives for Lively did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.

Reflecting on her interview with Lively, Flaa previously told BI : "Looking back, I still feel that I handled it the best way I could."

"In these settings, they always blame the journalist if something goes wrong. It's never the talent's fault no matter what happens," she added.

Holyoak said Lively could "definitely take a page from Anne's playbook" and apologize to Flaa.

"By reaching out personally and acknowledging any missteps, Blake could turn this around and potentially win back a lot of goodwill," he added.

Meanwhile, Kopan said Lively would show "maturity and self-awareness" if she followed Hathaway's lead.

"Even if she doesn't think she did anything wrong, acknowledging someone else's experience can go a long way in building trust," Kopan said.

"Owning up to your mistakes is so powerful, and people will forgive you," Flaa told BI via email.

She added that "things would have played out very differently" with Lively if she had apologized.

Zoe Mumba, a PR rep for the tech company Bitmovin, told BI that Lively's silence has "compounded the issue, leading people to search for more interviews where she might be seen as rude and increasing scrutiny of her behavior."

The backlash surrounding Lively's interview coincided with the promotion of her latest film, "It Ends With Us." The movie was adapted from Colleen Hoover's book of the same name about a woman who experiences domestic abuse.

The movie earned more than $309 million in global ticket sales, The Hollywood Reporter reported last month.

It's Lively's most successful film to date, surpassing the 2011 film "The Green Lantern," which made more than $237 million in global ticket sales, People reported.

But its success was overshadowed by the criticism Lively received for her lighthearted approach to publicizing the film, considering its serious subject matter.

Mumba said it may not be enough for Lively to apologize to Flaa, since it could appear "like she's simply jumping on the bandwagon."

Instead, she suggested Lively offer Flaa an exclusive interview for her next project, which would give the actor an opportunity to apologize in person.

"But this could still be viewed as too little, too late," Mumba said.

Correction: October 9, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated when Flaa and Lively's interview took place. It was in 2016, not earlier this year. An earlier version of this story also misspelled Jake Holyoak's name.