INSIDE MEDIA: Is Blake Lively a bully or a victim? The answer is complicated

In our column that takes you inside the world of media: We look at the case for and against Blake Lively | The ABC makes a major copy-and-paste blunder | Mariah Carey fails to dazzle as Netflix makes NFL history.

*A video version of this article is available in the player above

ABC BOSS MAKES MAJOR COPY AND PASTE BLUNDER

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Ex-commando Heston Russell’s ongoing dispute with the ABC has taken another dramatic twist, this time just two days before Christmas.

Heston Russell, decorated Afghanistan veteran. Credit: Unknown/Facebook

Russell won a defamation battle against the national broadcaster after a review found “editing errors” in footage where Russell was accused of firing six shots from a chopper, an accusation that was completely wrong. He was awarded $390,000 in damages for the story, but now comes the latest insult.

A letter sent to Heston Russell from ABC Managing Director David Anderson contains a serious copy-and-paste error. Credit: X

On December 2, Russell wrote to the ABC raising concerns about the independent review into those editing errors, which cleared the ABC of any wrongdoing.

Outgoing Managing Director David Anderson replied on December 23, standing by the report and reinforcing the fact the “ABC has accepted all of Mr Sunderland’s recommendations and is in the process of implementing them”.

That’s when the letter takes a bizarre twist and starts talking about a charity:

“Unfortunately, we are unable to add another charity partner at this stage as we are working exclusively with Foodbank in all states and territories (except for Tasmania) for this campaign”.

It would appear a copy-and-paste error has occurred where two letters have somehow merged.

As you can imagine Russell was not impressed, posting on X: “Here’s an early Xmas present from the ABC Managing Director — his response to my letter rejecting their inquiry because it was not ‘independent’ by any qualification. Note the last paragraph… cut & paste gone wrong! Taxpayer funds hard at work & #ABC accuracy on display #Fail”.

The ABC declined to comment when approached by INSIDE MEDIA.

It’s a bad look for the ABC who have refused to take Russell seriously, even after the organisation was found to have defamed him.

IS BLAKE LIVELY A BULLY OR A VICTIM? THE ANSWER IS COMPLICATED

Actress Blake Lively has been making headlines this Christmas after filing a complaint against It Ends With Us co-star and director, Justin Baldoni, for sexual harassment and an alleged coordinated effort to destroy her reputation.

The sexual harassment allegations are serious and during filming led to meetings between Lively and producers of the film to address ongoing concerns.

As per The Hollywood Reporter demands at the meeting included:

· Not showing nude videos or images of women to Lively.

· No more mentions of Baldoni’s alleged previous “pornography addiction”.

· No more discussions about sexual experiences in front of Lively and others.

· No further mentions of cast and crew’s genitalia.

· No more inquiries about Lively’s weight.

· No more adding of sex scenes, oral sex or on camera climaxing by Lively outside the scope of the script Lively approved when signing onto the project.

The filing also lifts the lid on the dark arts of crisis management in Hollywood. Additional claims by Lively allege Baldoni engaged in a “social manipulation” campaign to “destroy” her reputation. To back up that claim Lively has included 22 pages of damming texts between Baldoni’s publicist to Melissa Nathan, who heads a crisis PR firm.

There’s no doubt Lively has taken a PR hit recently, especially when a 2016 interview resurfaced where she turned on interviewer Kjersti Flaa after she made an innocent remark about Lively’s baby bump.

The video, uploaded on YouTube, was called: “The Blake Lively interview that made me want to quit my job” (you can see the video in the player above).

Journalist Kjersti Flaa sitting through a very awkward interview with Blake Lively. Credit: YouTube

In it you see Lively essentially ignore the interviewer for four minutes and only talk to her co-star Parker Posey. It’s uncomfortable viewing and made headlines around the world but Lively refused to apologise.

That journalist has now been forced to defend herself and declare she was not part of the orchestrated PR campaign against Lively.

To be honest, it doesn’t even matter if she was — while Lively’s claims against her co-star/director are serious, it doesn’t absolve her of her own behaviour and she should be judged accordingly.

MARIAH CAREY DISAPPOINTS ON NETFLIX

This morning I caught Netflix’s big gameday event and watched Mariah Carey’s pre-recorded clip to her Christmas classic All I Want For Christmas.

Oh dear, I’ll get to that in a moment.

It’s estimated by Forbes the singer makes US$2.5 million every year, so you’d think she’d be happy the song is still relevant 30 years after its initial release (and let me tell you it is a staple in the McKnight household).

So, with a potential global audience of over 100 million, you would think she would love being part of Netflix’s big Christmas day NFL event (Boxing Day here in Australia).

Apparently not.

Mariah Carey seemed bored miming to her classic Christmas hit during her pre-recorded appearance on Netflix Credit: NETFLIX

Set on a rooftop decorated with snow (available in the video player above), Carey looked bored as she mimed her infamous holiday song. There were times I even wondered whether she remembered the words. The performance was so bad no amount of fast cuts in the edit could save it as the singer barely moved her body.

It reminded me of that ‘80s movie Weekend At Bernies, although the dead guy in that movie was more animated!

There’s no doubt Carey would have received a big paycheck for that performance, it’s just a shame viewers didn’t get their money’s worth.

Thankfully, Beyonce was there to show Mariah how it’s done with an amazing performance that started with her entering the stadium on a white horse, even if that bit was pre-recorded.

GAVIN & STACEY FINALE

And a quick shoutout to James Corden and Ruth Jones, who delivered a wonderful finale for the comedy hit Gavin and Stacey.

A scene from the final episode of Gavin and Stacey. Credit: BBC

The episode provided PLENTY of laughs and references to classic moments from the 17-year run. And, for those who read the previous edition of INSIDE MEDIA, McKnight was right about what we’d learn about THAT fishing trip.

INSIDE MEDIA is published every Monday and Thursday.

Rob McKnight is the co-owner of TV Blackbox