Blake Lively achieves major milestone amid Justin Baldoni legal battle

Blake Lively received a major honour during her heated legal battle with It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni, which started last December.

The 37-year-old actress was named in the TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.

The Gossip Girl alum joined famous people like Scarlett Johansson, Joe Rogan and Donald Trump, in the list for the year 2025.

Sherrilyn Ifill, a civil-rights attorney, stated to TIME, "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."

Speaking in favour of Lively, Ifill addd that her and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, "reached out in 2019 to make a contribution to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund."

"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."

Ifill went on to add that she "admired immediately" Lively's "curiosity, and her sincere work to understand the conditions that shape this country."

This comes after Lively’s legal battle with Baldoni got twisted further when a crew member, Talia Spencer, from the movie, spoke against the actress.

“I feel like maybe Blake smelled his kindness, mistook it for weakness and tried to take advantage and take power,” she said.