Blake Lively was celebrated as one of TIME’s 100 most influential people of 2025, and she used the prestigious moment to deliver a stirring and deeply personal speech on women’s safety and resilience. Taking the stage at the TIME 100 Gala, the Gossip Girl star spoke for nearly six minutes, candidly opening up about a painful chapter in her family’s history.
Lively shared the survival story of her mother, Elaine Lively, who, as Blake revealed, had endured the “worst crime someone can commit against a woman.”
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Referring briefly to her ongoing legal battle with Justin Baldoni, Lively said, “I have so much to say about the last two years of my life, but tonight is not the forum. What I speak to you separately is the feeling of being a woman who has a voice today.”
In a heartfelt moment, the 37-year-old actress recounted how her mother found strength after hearing another survivor’s story. “The woman painfully and graphically shared how she escaped. And because of hearing that woman speak about her experience instead of shutting down in fear and unfair shame, my mom is alive today, she told People.
She was saved by a woman whose name she’ll never know,” Lively told the audience. However, Blake also revealed a harsh reality: her mother never received justice against the co-worker “who attempted to take her life.” The emotional revelation underscored the broader issues of systemic failure to protect and support survivors.
Lively used her platform to call on the audience to do more than simply listen to survivors; she asked them to actively stand with those who have endured emotional and physical abuse. She stressed that societal responses to these issues have lasting impacts, particularly on younger generations.
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“We break our daughters’ hearts when we tell them the reality that we will likely never be safe at work, at home, in a parking lot, in a medical office, or online,” she said, her voice resonating across the hall.
Lively concluded her powerful speech with a solemn reminder of women’s enduring strength: “Never underestimate a woman’s ability to endure pain.”
Her moving words earned a standing ovation and further cemented why she earned a spot among TIME’s most influential figures this year. In a room full of global changemakers, Blake Lively’s message stood out as a passionate call to action—a reminder that the fight for safety, respect, and justice is far from over.
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