Blake Lively and Leighton Meester had a rumoured feud on Gossip Girl. Let's re-examine what really happened.

When it comes to teen TV shows, it's impossible to escape rumours of a feud between the stars — especially when it comes to the women.

From Glee to The OC, gossip about rivalries between women runs rampant, and there's no bigger rumour than the one that followed Gossip Girl throughout its six seasons.

Blake Lively and Leighton Meester starred together in the hit series from 2007 to 2012, playing frenemies Serena van der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf. Throughout filming, many believed that the friction between the stars had spilt into real life.

Despite their on-screen chemistry as best friends (and rivals), persistent rumours suggested the actresses "avoided each other like the plague" behind the scenes.

Leighton Meester, Jessica Szohr, Taylor Momsen and Blake Lively in 2009. Image: Getty.

Whispers of their strained relationship resurfaced last year amid controversy surrounding Lively and Justin Baldoni on the set of It Ends With Us.

Fans attempted to use the alleged Gossip Girl feud as an example of 'mean girl antics' on Lively's part, claiming she had a history of on-set bad behaviour.

People across TikTok and Twitter resurfaced old clips and tabloid articles, as though they offered proof and concrete evidence that the two had not gotten along. True or not, the idea that Blake and Leighton were at war with one another had somehow transformed from silly rumour to cold-hard fact in the minds of the internet. But, all was not as it seemed.

So, what actually happened between Blake and Leighton? We've dug through what was said both at the time of Gossip Girl's run and in retrospect, the real story reveals a harsh truth about Hollywood.

Watch Blake Lively on the red carpet for It Ends With Us. Post continued after video.

The unflattering viral moments between Blake Lively and Leighton Meester.

In 2024, a number of clips went viral on TikTok featuring Blake and Leighton sharing apparent awkward moments in interviews.

Two of the most viral clips actually came from the same chat during a 2008 Paleyfest panel discussion.

In one part, Lively made a weird comparison, pointing at Meester while making a joke about monkeys. The full context of the chat was Blake saying she wouldn't do Gossip Girl if, like the books, Chuck Bass had a pet monkey.

"I would love to be part of the show but I can't act with a monkey," she joked, before pointing at Leighton and adding "Well, I got a few of them."

The joke landed so badly that Lively clarified, "C'mon it was a joke! Lord have mercy!"

In another resurfaced clip from the same interview, Meester was discussing whether Serena or Blair are inherently good or evil when Lively interjected to say "everyone knows blondes are nicer." In response, Meester awkwardly laughed.

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While there appeared to be some tension in these clips, they are hardly proof of some all-consuming grudge between the two women.

It's also worth remembering that Lively was just 20 (and Meester was 21) when they began filming the show, which can explain Lively's inappropriate sense of humour at times.

The rumours that plagued Blake Lively and Leighton Meester.

After New York Magazine visited the Gossip Girl set in 2008, they declared that Lively and Meester were not friends, claiming they "avoid each other like the plague" on set.

Meester was asked about their rumoured feud, answering by bringing up the sexist double standards that women face in Hollywood.

"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]," she replied. "Why don't they say that George Clooney and Brad Pitt don't get along? It's always the girls."

Lively addressed the rumours they were 'frenemies' during an appearance on The View, where she also shared a similar sentiment about women being pitted against each other.

"You don't hear about Penn and Chace hating each other or being jealous," she noted of their co-stars, Penn Badgley and Chace Crawford. And it was true. The cast was made up of many leading men, most of whom did not hang out behind the scenes.

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Back in 2011, Hollywood Life shared their own theory over why the young women had a falling out: it was all over their designer wardrobes! Because what else would two girls fight about, right?

"Leighton's wardrobe budget was increased, and she started getting some amazing clothes that the other two girls were jealous of," an 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."

Hmmm, sounds fake but okay.

In response to the mounting speculation, Lively's publicist issued an explanation. "Blake and Leighton have never been best friends, and never professed to be," they stated. "Blake goes to work, does her job, and goes home."

Leighton Meester and Blake Lively on location for Gossip Girl. Image: Getty.

What really happened between Blake Lively and Leighton Meester.

Despite the many (and we mean, many) reports that Blake and Leighton absolutely HATED AND DESPISED each other, the evidence doesn't really support this description.

For instance, none of the Gossip Girl cast have ever said there was this big feud running between the two leading ladies, despite the show being over for more than a decade.

In 2009, Chace Crawford spoke about the rumours with Interview magazine. "Everyone wants to know what's happening on set. There isn't anything shocking to write about," he said.

The same went for Michelle Trachtenberg (aka the iconic Georgina Sparks) who told Vanity Fair, "We were all chill, it was cool."

Penn Badgley currently hosts a podcast, where he speaks warmly about his ex-girlfriend Lively, and has had Meester on the show as a guest, rejecting the notion that any 'sides' were chosen in the feud.

Blake Lively and Leighton Meester at the 2008 CW Network Upfronts. Image: Getty.

For the 10th anniversary of Gossip Girl, the show's executive producer Joshua Safran shared a rare insight into Blake and Leighton's dynamic with Vanity Fair.

"Blake and Leighton were not friends," he said, but added, "They were friendly, but they were not friends like Serena and Blair. Yet the second they'd be on set together, it's as if they were."

For Safran, he suspects their personalities clashed. "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?'"

He claimed Meester was the opposite, saying she was "very removed and very quiet" on the set of Gossip Girl.

This is the main takeaway from all this: there's a difference between not being friends with someone and hating them. Two women can simply just be coworkers who probably didn't vibe with each other's personalities. And that's okay!

But in the parasocial world we live in, fans thrive off the idea that on-set drama is plaguing their favourite show. Because they don't see the actors as, well, actors who are doing a job. They see them as real-life versions of their on-screen characters, and they want them to behave in exactly the same ways.

In real life, we can accept that we won't bond and become lifelong friends with every co-worker we encounter. Careers are long! Everyone on this planet is not put there to match you perfectly. But those rules do not transcend the divide between the 'real world' and Hollywood.

Actors must either be best friends, or sworn enemies. There's no in between in Hollywood.

Feature image: Getty.