Blake Lively alluded to her ongoing legal battle with Justin Baldoni while delivering an emotional speech at the Time100 Gala on Thursday.
The actress, honored as one of Time magazine’s "Most Influential People of 2025," began by acknowledging the challenges of the past two years, but emphasized that the gala was not the time to discuss them in detail. She did, however, speak passionately about the power of a woman’s voice in today’s world.
Lively, 37, turned her attention to her mother, Willie Elain McAlpin, who was present at the event. The actress described her mother as an "eternal optimist" before revealing that McAlpin, 77, was the victim of a violent crime. Lively shared that her mother had concealed the shame of a traumatic assault throughout her life, but now felt it was necessary to speak out in the hope of changing the narrative.
"My mom never got justice from her work acquaintance who attempted to take her life when she was the mother of three young kids years before I was born," Lively explained. Though she did not provide specific details, Lively credited another woman’s survival story for saving her mother’s life. She described how this woman’s powerful broadcast about escaping a similar ordeal gave McAlpin the courage to survive, emphasizing the importance of sharing stories of survival to inspire others.
In her speech, Lively also thanked "every man," particularly her husband, Ryan Reynolds, for being a "kind and good" support system. She acknowledged those who fight for safety and justice across all communities and praised fellow honoree Gisèle Pelicot, a French woman who endured multiple assaults by her husband.
Lively's speech comes amid her ongoing legal conflict with Baldoni, who is facing accusations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior during the filming of It Ends With Us. Baldoni has denied the allegations and filed a countersuit against Lively for defamation, which is set to go to trial in March 2026.
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