Actress Blake Lively is known for her iconic roles and elegant persona. Following her big break in the 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, the actress landed the role of Serena van der Woodsen in the teen drama Gossip Girl. Based on the novel of the same name, the drama follows the lives of privileged teenagers on the Upper East Side who are constantly in sight of a secret blogger.
The show ran for six seasons, starring Lively alongside Leighton Meester and Penn Badgley. While the series was quite popular, the actress was surprised by a studio head’s review, who called it a bad influence and held it responsible for his niece’s school suspension.
Studio Executive Called Blake Lively’s Show A Bad Influence
During an appearance on David Letterman’s talk show, Blake Lively talked about her popular teen drama Gossip Girl. As she discussed the anonymous blogger, aka the Gossip Girl, in the show, the actress shared a critical remark she got about the show from a studio executive.
“I’m really upset. Your show is not a good influence on young people,” she recalled the executive’s words. The Savages actress believed that he had complaints regarding the portrayal of “s*x, drugs, and alcohol,” in the TV show. However, it was regarding something else.
He shared that influenced by the show, his niece created a website and became a gossip girl at her school, which resulted in a suspension for her. The actress, however, defended herself and the show, saying, “It’s not my fault, your niece is sketchy.” Lively said that she could not take responsibility, advising that the audience should not do what happens in a show or a movie
The series concluded after six seasons, and Dan Humphrey, portrayed by Penn Badgley, is revealed to be the secret blogger of the Upper East Side. However, the executive producer later shared that another character was supposed to be the Gossip Girl in the show’s finale.
Dan Humphrey Was Not Supposed to be the Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl features Blake Lively as Serena van der Woodsen, one of the characters who is often the target of the anonymous blogger. By the end of the series, Serena’s love interest throughout the show, Dan Humphrey, is revealed to be the real person behind the Gossip Girl blog.
However, the executive producer of the show, Joshua Safran, shared during an interview with Vulture, that it was supposed to be another character. “I always thought it was Eric until the end of season two, and I even guided it that way,” he shared.
However, they had to take a different path, followed by a tabloid report revealing the identity of the anonymous blogger. “But when the New York Post revealed it was Eric—and I still don’t know how that happened, I think they were just guessing,” he said.
The showrunners considered different characters for the title, including Nate Archibald, but eventually decided on Dan as he’s “a writer, observer, and could write in different styles.” And many still believe that Eric could have been the perfect candidate for being the secret blogger.
Gossip Girl is available on Max.
