Blake Lively Says It’s an ‘Honor’ to Make 2025’s ‘TIME 100’ List Amid Justin Baldoni Legal Battle

Blake Lively is speaking out after being named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2025.

“It’s an honor to be acknowledged on the @time 100 list for 2025🤍🙏🤍 To be written about by the great @sherrilynifill is not something I take lightly,” Lively, 37, wrote via Instagram on Wednesday, April 16, referencing the civil rights lawyer who wrote her blurb in this year’s list. “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.”

Concluding her message, Lively added: “Thank you @time And thank you @sherrilynifill for one of the most surreal and meaningful moments of my life in this honor. My 10 year old self is pretty blown away right now.”

In a separate Instagram Story, Lively added further commentary, writing, “I’m able to see this moment, almost looking back from the future, or looking ahead from childhood, and from every time period I can see how profound this is to me. Not just to be included, but to have a voice. It’s a fortunate thing, when it should be a given.”

“So thank you to @time and to each of you who uplift the many who live boldly, even when it’s scary.”

The magazine released the list earlier Wednesday. Ifill, 62, penned Lively’s entry, which began, “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.”

Ifill went on to praise the charitable work Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, are involved in.

“She and her husband Ryan Reynolds reached out in 2019 to make a contribution to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund,” the lawyer continued. “I had been getting a few of these calls, as our work fighting against voter suppression and police brutality was receiving national attention. 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.”

Lively’s inclusion in the list comes four months after she filed paperwork accusing her It Ends With Us costar and director Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment, creating a “hostile work environment” and causing her “severe emotional distress” while working together on the hit film, for which Lively served as a producer.

Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman called Lively’s claims “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious,” alleging in a statement to Us Weekly that Lively filed the lawsuit to “fix her negative reputation” and “rehash a narrative” regarding the production of It Ends With Us.

Baldoni, 41, then launched a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times for its coverage of Lively’s allegations. A Times spokesperson told Us that the outlet is planning to “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”

In January, Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios filed a lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, 48, and Lively’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, seeking $400 million in damages. The lawsuit included accusations of civil extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy and other claims.

“This latest lawsuit from Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its associates is another chapter in the abuser playbook,” Lively said in response. “This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim. This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender,” the statement read. “Wayfarer has opted to use the resources of its billionaire co-founder to issue media statements, launch meritless lawsuits, and threaten litigation to overwhelm the public’s ability to understand that what they are doing is retaliation against sexual harassment allegations.”

The larger trial for Lively and Baldoni is set to begin on March 9, 2026.