Blake Lively files legal complaint against Justin Baldoni
Blake Lively says “It Ends with Us” co-star Justin Baldoni sexually harassed her and tried to destroy her reputation in a California legal filing.
NEW YORK — Blake Lively is speaking out about trauma with her mother by her side.
Amid her ongoing legal battle with actor Justin Baldoni, the “It Ends With Us” star, 37, delivered a speech focused on the importance of women not being silent about abuse on April 24 at the Time100 gala in New York City.
Lively, who Time magazine named one of the most influential people in the world, never mentioned Baldoni or her allegations of sexual harassment against him. However, she alluded to the litigation after reflecting on how influence is a “significant responsibility” to hold.
“Who and what we stand up for, and what we stay silent about, what we monetize versus what we actually live, matters,” she said.
“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 involved in litigation with her “It Ends With Us” director and co-star Baldoni, whom she has accused of engaging in inappropriate conduct and orchestrating a smear campaign against her. Baldoni has denied the allegations and accused Lively of defamation and extortion.
Blake Lively delivers powerful speech about abuse at Time100 gala
Lively was joined at the event by her mother, who she revealed is a “survivor of the worst crime someone can commit against a woman” when a work acquaintance tried to kill her, before Lively was born. The actress said she shared this information at her mom’s urging.
“I’ve watched her conceal her raw and undeserved shame my entire life, so as her daughter, being asked to share this today is monumental. …My mom never got justice from her work acquaintance who attempted to take her life when she was the mother of three young kids, years before I was born,” Lively said while holding her mother’s hand.
Lively said her mom credits her survival to drawing on the experience of another woman whom she had previously heard “painfully and graphically” describe escaping abuse on the radio.
“Because of hearing that woman speak to her experience instead of shutting down in fear and unfair shame, my mom is alive today,” Lively said.
Lively on the ‘silent torch of womanhood that we come to know’
“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. I am here, and my mom is here, because that woman not only survived, but she told others how.”
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?”
Ryan Reynolds joins Blake Lively at Time100 gala: ‘My sweet husband’
Lively was joined at the event by her husband, Ryan Reynolds, who posed with her for photos on the red carpet. She mentioned him at the end of her remarks when she thanked “every man, including my sweet husband, who are kind and good when no one is watching.”
The “Another Simple Favor” star was honored in the “titans” section of Time’s list of the most influential people in the world. The list also included actors like Demi Moore and Adrien Brody and athletes like Serena Williams and Simone Biles, all of whom turned out for the star-studded gala hosted by Snoop Dogg.
Lively received a standing ovation after delivering her toast, the final speech of the evening, before the night ended with a performance by Ed Sheeran.
Earlier in the night, Moore, coming off her first Oscar season for “The Substance,” became self-reflective in remarks about the nature of time itself.
“I’ve spent a lot of my life up until now running from who I wasn’t, racing towards who I thought I should be, and never really appreciating who was right in front of me,” Moore said. “…But when I had the courage to pause, to get still, to stop running, I found grace, compassion, and most importantly, acceptance. Because when we embrace who we are, where we are, exactly as we are, we stop missing the moment we’re in.”
Contributing: Edward Segarra and Jay Stahl
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