Anne Hathaway is an Oscar-winning American actress who publicly apologized to a Norwegian journalist, Kjersti Flaa, following an uncomfortable interview given during the 2012 press tour of “Les Misérables.” It went viral on social media in 2024.
During the session, Flaa tried to inject some humor and asked Hathaway to sing her answers to his questions. Hathaway nixed that idea and things got testy. Afterward, Flaa proclaimed, “It was cringe-worthy,” as Hathaway was covering her tracks by resorting to subject denials, which unsettled him.
In response, Anne Hathaway did something rather surprising due to all the viral attention:. She contacted Kjersti Flaa and sent a personal message where she apologized for her behavior during that interview back in 2012. Hathaway wrote in the email to explain what kind of mindset she was in regarding the emotional state at that time and gave profound apologies as to how the interaction had gone by. Hathaway’s apology was an acknowledgment of the awkwardness and at the same time trying to atone for what it did to Flaa.
Flaa was surprised and touched by Hathaway’s email. In one video, she told her audience that she never would have in her life thought she would get such an honest apology, let alone after all these years since the interview had aired. Hathaway’s message had been sincere and personal, or so the gesture meant much to Flaa. The actress went further as to invite Flaa to interview her again for some upcoming project, signifying a new beginning for the two.
It was not the first time Kjersti Flaa had done a celebrity interview that was bound to be difficult.
It was again in 2016 that, during a promotional press junket with actress Blake Lively, Flaa felt out of her comfort zone enough to almost walk away from journalism. Flaa called the interview with Lively a “nightmare,” relating how an off-handed comment by the actress had to do with her appearance and added to the tension.
All in all, it’s been a bad week for Flaa with Lively, along with the viral Hathaway interview, thrust into the spotlight the pressures that face journalists whenever they interact with high-profile celebrities.
Anne Hathaway’s apology acts as a strong reminder that it is never too late to right wrongs of the past. Living in a world where celebrities are scrutinized at every turn, Hathaway’s growing sense of maturity and self-awareness shows even she can learn from mistakes. Flaa’s openness about the experience she has had under Hathaway’s-and that of Lively’s-brings important conversation to light about challenges presented to journalists when navigating these high-pressure situations.
