Blake Lively recently opened up about her trauma with her mother by her side. Amid her ongoing legal dispute with actor Justin Baldoni, the 37-year-old “It Ends With Us” star delivered a compelling speech at the Time100 gala in New York City on April 24, emphasizing the importance of women speaking out against abuse.
Named one of the most influential people by Time magazine, Lively did not specifically mention Baldoni or her claims of sexual harassment against him. Yet, she hinted at the legal battle when she discussed the significant responsibility that comes with influence.
She highlighted the importance of advocating for certain causes and the consequences of silence, contrasting what we publicly support with our true actions.
“Who and what we stand up for, and what we stay silent about, what we monetize versus what we actually live, matters,” she stated.
“I have so much to say about the last two years of my life, but tonight is not the forum,” Lively continued.
“What I will speak to separately is the feeling of being a woman who has a voice today, and since I could speak, because of the pain, caution, and fight of the many women who have paved the way, and the men who stood beside them.”
Since last year, Lively has been embroiled in a legal battle with her “It Ends With Us” director and co-star Baldoni, whom she accuses of inappropriate behavior and leading a campaign to tarnish her reputation. Baldoni has refuted these claims, alleging defamation and extortion by Lively.
At the event, Blake Lively was accompanied by her mother, whom she revealed had survived an unimaginable crime committed by a work acquaintance who attempted to kill her before Lively was born. Lively shared this deeply personal story at her mother’s encouragement.
Lively recounted her mother’s lifelong battle with hidden shame and the lack of justice she received from her aggressor, who attempted to end her life while she was already a mother of three, years before Lively was born.
Her mother attributes her survival to the brave recounting of another woman’s escape from abuse on the radio, which inspired her during her own ordeal.
“My mom is alive today because she heard that woman share her experience instead of succumbing to fear and unjust shame,” Lively said.
“She was saved by a woman whose name she’ll never know. I am alive and standing here with you all today, being honored because of a woman whose name I’ll never know. My mom and I are here because that woman not only survived, but she also shared her story.”
Lively continued, “It’s a silent torch of womanhood that we come to know, a pact that privately, we must show others how to survive, literally or spiritually.”
“We don’t let our daughters know, but one day, we break their hearts by letting them in on the secret we kept from them as they pranced around in princess dresses: that they are not, and will likely never be, safe—at work, at home, in a parking lot, in a medical office, online, in any space they inhabit, physically, emotionally, professionally.”
“But why does that torch have to be our burden to carry in private? How can we not all agree on that basic human right?”
Lively attended the event with her husband, Ryan Reynolds, who joined her on the red carpet. In her closing remarks, she thanked him and all the men who uphold integrity even when unnoticed.
Honored in the “titans” category by Time, alongside celebrities like Demi Moore and athletes such as Serena Williams, Lively received a standing ovation for her powerful speech, which concluded the gala followed by a performance from Ed Sheeran.
