Blake Lively Named One of Time's Most Influential People Amid Legal Battle (2025)

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Blake Lively Named One of Time’s Most Influential People Amid Legal Battle

Blake Lively is ending the month with a new recognition.

Amid the actress' ongoing legal battle with It Ends With Us costar and director Justin Baldoni, she was named one of TIMEMagazine's100 Most Influential People.

And alongside her recognition in the Titan category NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund President Sherrilyn Ifill shared insight into Blake's work beyond Hollywood.

"I don't know the Blake Lively of the red carpet," the civil rights attorney wrote in the entry published April 16. "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."

She noted that Blake—who donated $2 million in 2019 with her husband Ryan Reynolds for the NAACP's LDF initiative to advance racial justice—has been "committed to moving this country forward."

"I admired immediately her curiosity, and her sincere work to understand the conditions that shape this country," Sherrilyn continued. "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."

readBlake Lively Thanks Fans for the "Love" at SXSW Premiere of Another Simple Favor

She emphasized that Blake, 37, who she described as a serious person and a risk taker, was committed to "filling those gaps" and "becoming the most fully informed and prepared citizen."

The Simple Favor actress' latest award comes as her ongoing legal battle with Justin, which includes multiple lawsuits, continues. For her part, Blake sued costar for sexual harassment and retaliation following a New York Times article detailing her allegations. Meanwhile, Justin, who denied Blake's claims, filed a $400 million defamation counterclaim against Blake, Ryan, their publicist Leslie Sloan and later amended it to include The New York Times for its coverage of Blake's original complaint. (All defendants have denied the allegations.)

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But amid the lawsuits, some figures involved with It Ends WithUs'production are weighing in. This includes a storyboard artist who admitted to being wary of Blake's accusations and expressed her belief that the Age of Adaline alum, who was also a producer on the film, tried to take over creative control. (Justin previously accused Blake of doing so in his January filings.)

"I feel like Blake maybe smelled his kindness and mistook it for weakness and tried to take advantage and take power," Talia Spencer expressed in a 60 Minutes Australia interview released April 13. "I think there was a massive compromise in terms of Justin's original vision for the film."

E! News had reached out to reps for Lively for comment and had not heard back.

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Along with denying all of Blake's allegations, Justin alleged in his "Timeline of Relevant Events" that accompanied his January amended complaint that his costar leveraged her close friendship with Taylor Swift by implying she wouldn't reach out for the rights to "My Tears Richochet" for the trailer if "her demands are not met."

"This maneuver felt less like a professional request and more like extortion," Justin's filing, which was published online by his legal team, read, "holding the film's marketing efforts hostage to gain creative control."

However, Blake's attorneys told E! News in a statement at the time, "This case deals with serious allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation. We will hold the defendants accountable, and we are confident that once all the evidence is submitted in this matter, Ms. Lively will prevail."

Read on for a complete timeline of Blake and Justin's ongoing legal battle.

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