An interview with gossip GirlThe question from the executive producer of “The Movie” whether Blake Lively and Leighton Meester were friends has resurfaced.

It ends with usbased on the novel by Colleen Hoover, starring Lively and directed by co-star Justin Baldoni, recently hit theaters but has been the subject of controversy over an “inappropriate” marketing campaign given its sensitive themes and alleged tensions between the film’s two leads.

Lively and Baldoni have since run into trouble as fans try to figure out what, if anything, might have happened on set. Lively and Baldoni reportedly clashed over different cuts before the film’s release, and other stars, including Jenny Slate, dodged questions about working with the director.

After a reporter recounted her “unpleasant” experience during previous interviews with Lively, an interview with the producer of the series that made Lively famous as her much-loved character Serena van der Woodsen has now resurfaced.

While some fans are slamming Lively for her alleged “mean girl behavior,” others point out that the resurfacing of the video interview comes shortly after news broke that Baldoni reportedly hired veteran crisis PR expert Melissa Nathan, who represented Johnny Depp during his trial against Amber Herd.

Were Blake Lively and Leighton Meester friends?

In 2017, as the 2007 drama celebrated its tenth anniversary, Safran told Vanity Fair that “Blake and Leighton” – the latter played her co-star Blair Waldorf – were “not friends.”

Although the publication noted that “the two got along well on set,” they reportedly didn’t spend time together outside of filming and press events. “They were friendly, but not friends like Serena and Blair,” the showrunner added.

“Blake lives completely in the here and now. Blake knows what’s going on. If you talk to Blake on a very contemporary level, she always says, ‘I’m doing this tonight. Have you ever been to this restaurant?'”

Meester, on the other hand, “was very distant and very quiet, and after her scenes were over, she would wander around the stage. I had this image of her in these beautiful dresses with a book in her hand, a little out of focus in the corners.”

Of course, as fans pointed out online, not everyone is expected to be friends with their colleagues.

New York Magazine reported in 2008 that Lively and Meester tended to “avoid each other like the plague” on set, and that tensions grew to the point where other cast members were forced to “choose to sit side by side.”

In 2011, a source told Hollywood Life that there was tension between the show’s three main actresses over the costume budget.

“Leighton’s wardrobe budget increased and she started buying some great clothes that the other two girls (Lively and Taylor Momsen) were jealous of.

“Blake is most successful outside of the show in feature films, so she was really upset about the wardrobe situation because she felt like it was done behind her back.”

A spokesperson for Lively told Harper’s Baazar in 2017: “Blake and Leighton were never best friends and never claimed to be. Blake goes to work, does her job and goes home.”