Blake Lively And Leighton Meester's Rumored Feud, Explained

It's been a long time since they were co-stars but rumors about Blake Lively and Leighton Meester's supposed feud refuse to die down. While we might have managed to temporarily forget about the drama on the set of iconic teen drama "Gossip Girl," the stories resurfaced in full force after it came to light that Lively may have some beef with her "It Ends With Us" co-star, and director, Justin Baldoni. Lively has had her fair share of controversial moments in the past, of which her rumored squabble with Meester is arguably the most talked about even nowadays. In fact, the rumors grew so loud that "Gossip Girl" executive producer Joshua Safran addressed the alleged feud during a 2017 Vanity Fair interview, clarifying, "They were friendly, but they were not friends like Serena and Blair."

With this statement, he effectively restarted speculation about the two women's off-screen relationship. Safran did attempt to explain why Meester and Lively weren't besties though, reasoning that it was simply a matter of them having wildly different personalities. He elaborated, "Blake is very much in the moment, Blake knows what's happening. You talk to Blake on a very contemporary level, and she would be like, 'I'm doing this thing tonight. Have you been to this restaurant?'" Meester was the exact opposite, "very removed and very quiet," and typically preferred to spend time by herself between takes instead of socializing. But did they genuinely have an issue with each other at any point? 

When looking for proof of a possible feud between Blake Lively and Leighton Meester, certain past interviews provide plenty of plausible evidence. In resurfaced clips posted to TikTok, it quickly becomes clear that the former co-stars might have been straight-up enemies. In one such video, Lively appears to compare Meester to a monkey while discussing how she would love to have her own pet monkey on the show, like Chuck Bass in the "Gossip Girl" books. "And then I got a few of them," Lively quipped, pointing to Meester in the process. She seemed to realize the error of her ways and immediately made it clear that she was joking but needless to say her colleague did not look amused.

While a little gaffe every once in a while is acceptable, in another resurfaced clip from the same interview, Lively seemingly takes another jab at Meester during a chat about how they measure up to their characters in the books. Meester suspected that she was a brunette on the show because the character of Blair Waldorf is described as having dark hair. Lively then interjects, "And everyone knows blondes are nicer." Some awkward laughs follow, then a deathly silence, with Meester giving Lively some serious side-eye.

An unnamed source also disclosed to Hollywood Life in 2011 that the co-leads had a big falling out over costumes. "Leighton's wardrobe budget was increased, and she started getting some amazing clothes that the other two girls were jealous of," the insider alleged. "Blake has the most success outside the show in feature films, so she was really annoyed about the wardrobe situation because she felt it was done behind her back."

When New York Magazine visited the "Gossip Girl" set in 2008, they couldn't help but spill some tea on what the relationships between the various cast members were like. Apparently, someone (they didn't say who) told the outlet that not only were Blake Lively and Leighton Meester not real-life friends, they "avoid each other like the plague." The tension between them was so palpable that several people felt pressured to take sides. When Meester was questioned about their rumored feud, she deflected, instead sharing, "I was just reading something about, like, how Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson didn't get along [on the set of 'The Other Boleyn Girl']. Why don't they say that George Clooney and Brad Pitt don't get along? It's always the girls."

Many celebs aren't fans of Blake Lively, but her "Gossip Girl" co-stars weren't among them. In 2009, Chace Crawford (who played Nate Archibald) even asserted to Interview magazine that the press seemed hellbent on creating drama out of nothing. "Everyone wants to know what's happening on set. There isn't anything shocking to write about," he said. Michelle Trachtenberg (Georgina Sparks) also firmly shut down any stories of on-set issues, confirming to Vanity Fair, "We were all chill, it was cool." 

Elsewhere, Amy Tagliamonti, who did makeup on the show, agreed. As she rationalized, "There was too much work to do for things to be that dramatic behind the scenes. [...] Everyone was just doing their thing." Or, perhaps they were all so swamped that they didn't notice the feud going on right under their noses?