Blake Lively took the stage at the 2025 Time100 Gala with her mother at her side and her heart on full display. Honored as one of Time’s most influential people, Lively used her platform to speak about the resilience of women, the pain of silence, and the unspoken burden many carry.
Though she never named him, Lively’s words came amid her ongoing legal battle with It Ends With Us director and co-star Justin Baldoni, whom she’s accused of misconduct. “What we stay silent about, what we monetize versus what we live—matters,” she said, alluding to the past two turbulent years of her life.
Lively shared her mother’s story for the first time publicly: a survivor of an attempted murder by a work acquaintance, long before Lively was born. Her mother’s survival, she said, was inspired by hearing another woman’s account of escaping abuse—proof of how telling our stories can save lives.
Holding her mother’s hand, Lively called this intergenerational act of survival a “silent torch of womanhood” passed between women—too often in private.
She ended her speech with a nod to her husband, Ryan Reynolds, thanking “every man, including my sweet husband, who are kind and good when no one is watching.”
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