Blake Lively addresses making Times 100 ‘most influential people’ list after sparking backlash
Topics: Blake Lively, Celebrity, Ryan Reynolds
Jess Hardiman
Featured Image Credit: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
Topics: Blake Lively, Celebrity, Ryan Reynolds
Blake Lively has spoken out about her controversial appearance on the Times 100 ‘most influential people’ list, amid backlash for making the cut.
Lively was named on the annual list alongside the likes of US President Donald Trump, Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Her feature was accompanied by a testimony by civil rights activist Sherrilyn Ifill, who wrote: "I don’t know the Blake Lively of the red carpet. Or the Met Gala. I never watched ‘Gossip Girl.’
“The Blake Lively I know is a philanthropist and a student of our country’s most intractable problems.”
Advert
Ifill is also President and director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, to which Lively and husband Ryan Reynolds have made numerous donations.
In 2020, the couple publicly donated $200,000 to the fund, appearing to reference the criticism they had received for their 2012 plantation wedding.
"We're ashamed that in the past we've allowed ourselves to be uninformed about how deeply rooted systemic racism is," they wrote on Instagram, in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
"We want to educate ourselves about other people's experiences and talk to our kids about everything, all of it ... especially our own complicity."
Ifill said the pair had first reached out to her in 2019, with a view to ‘make a contribution’ to the fund.
"I had been getting a few of these calls, as our work fighting against voter suppression and police brutality was receiving national attention,” she said.
“I’m always curious about the kind of research famous people do before they make that cold call to offer their support. The ones I have remained in relationship with are those who, like Blake, really did their homework.
“I admired immediately her curiosity, and her sincere work to understand the conditions that shape this country. I remember an early conversation in which she expressed frustration that so much of our nation’s history was not part of the instruction she had received as a student.”
After Lively was named in Time’s list, many people were left feeling confused by the same detail.
One wrote on X: “Blake Lively has been named one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People of 2025... for a donation she made to the NAACP... in 2019. Can’t make this stuff up.”
Another echoed: “But…..2019 was 6 years ago. And…… 2025 is...now. I don’t understand.”
A third wrote: “That was an apology donation for being tone deaf enough to getting married on plantation. What the eff?”
But that $200,000 donation isn’t the only one Lively and Reynolds have made over the years, with other instances including a gift of $2 million to the LDF in 2019, and $1 million to the LDF and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in 2020.
“Her commitment to filling those gaps - and becoming the most fully informed and prepared citizen - is what I appreciate most about her,” Ifill added.
“Blake is a serious person. She’s a risk taker. And she’s committed to moving this country forward. For her children. And for mine.”
Lively has spoken out about her inclusion on the list in an Instagram post, saying it’s an ‘honor to be acknowledged’.
“To be written about by the great @sherrilynifill is not something I take lightly,” she said.
“Her work has shaped our nation. WHO SHE IS - as a human, woman, mother, leader, fighter, healer, empath, risk taker and dream maker- has shaped my heart and also my stamina to never stop believing in a future that’s better and safer for everyone.”
Thanking Time and Ifill for ‘one of the most surreal and meaningful moments’ of her life, she wrote: “My 10 year old self is pretty blown away right now.”
Many other people argued that Lively’s feature was ‘well-deserved’, with one saying in defence: "While her 2019 $2 million donation to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund is notable, it's part of a broader impact, not the sole reason for her recognition. Her work reflects a transformative commitment to social change."
Tyla has reached out to Lively's reps for comment.