Blake Lively appeared to allude to her legal battle with Justin Baldoni in her TIME100 speech after making the exclusive list for the gala.
The actress was named one of TIME magazine's 100 most influential people of 2025 and attended the event at the Lincoln Center in New York City on Thursday (24 April).
During her speech, the 37-year-old claimed that it was ‘surreal and deeply significant’ to have made the cut on the list, particularly ‘in a time where the most valuable currency seems to be anger, it feels like an act of defiance to commune and celebrate all the good that is alive in the world’.
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She explained that being ‘influential’ is something very important, sharing: "How we use that matters. Who and what we stand up for, and what we stay silent about, what we monetise versus what we actually live, matters."
However, it seems that Lively may have made a subtle nod to her ongoing legal battle with It Ends With Us co-star Baldoni in the speech too.
While standing on stage, she expressed her feelings ‘of being a woman who has a voice today’.
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The Gossip Girl star said: "I have so much to say about the last two years of my life, but tonight is not the forum."
Fans think the ‘last two years’ part could be about Baldoni and the lawsuits as they began in 2024, not long after the movie was released.
Now, if you don’t already know, Lively has been embroiled in a hefty number of lawsuits with Baldoni.
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She is also facing a $7 million lawsuit, which her lawyers claim is a retaliation tactic for her speaking out about Baldoni’s alleged behaviour on set.
The pair have been publicly rowing since working together on the adaptation of Colleen Hoover novel.
Lively went on to fire the first shot, claiming in a legal complaint that she experienced sexual harassment from director and co-star Baldoni and that there had allegedly been an orchestrated effort from his team to launch a smear campaign against her.
Baldoni later sued Lively for defamation and extortion after her claims came to light.
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A publicist that Lively named in the complaint she filed with the California Civil Rights Department has also gone on to file against her.
The filing read: "The statements of fact, actual or implied, of and concerning Plaintiffs in the Precursor and CRD Complaint are false, defamatory, made with either negligence or ‘actual malice’ and have caused millions of dollars in reputational harm including both general and special damages through emotional harm (Wallace), actual damages and real and projected loss of business (Wallace and Street) in an amount that exceeds $1,000,000."
In a statement to People in February, Lively’s legal team said the latest suit was ‘retaliation’ to her speaking out against what happened on set.
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"Another day, another state, another nine-figure lawsuit seeking to sue Ms. Lively 'into oblivion' for speaking out against sexual harassment and retaliation," they said.
In her TIME100 speech, Lively also spoke about her mother, her influence on her and her strength, before referring to the ‘superpower of female triumph’ as a ‘basic human right’.
She added: "Never underestimate a woman's ability to endure pain."
Tyla has contacted representatives for Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni for comment.
Topics: Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Celebrity
Britt Jones