Blake Lively on Time100 Honor: 'Fortunate' to 'Be Included' & 'Have a Voice ... When It Should Be a Given'

Calling it "an honor to be acknowledged" among her peers, Lively shared the news to her followers via her Instagram page, while also sharing praise for prominent civil rights professor at Howard Law School, Sherrilyn Ifill, who penned the accompanying text.

Lively said that having Ifill write about her "is not something I take lightly."

"Her work has shaped our nation," she continued. "WHO SHE IS – as a human, woman, mother, leader, fighter, healer, empath, risk taker and dream maker – has shaped my heart and also my stamina to never stop believing in a future that’s better and safer for everyone."

She went on to thank both Time and Ifill "for one of the most surreal and meaningful moments of my life in this honor. My 10 year old self is pretty blown away right now."

The actress then jumped into her Instagram Stories to share even more of her thoughts about the honor. "I'm able to see this moment, almost looking back from the future, or looking ahead from childhood," she wrote, "and from every time period I can see how profound this is to me."

"Not just to be included, but to have a voice," she continued. "It's a fortunate thing, when it should be given." She went on to thank the magazine and "each of you who uplift the many who live boldly, even when it's scary."

In a second slide, she went on to thank Ifill for her words in the magazine.

"Since the day I met you, you have shown me grace, kindness, curiosity, wisdom, strength, knowledge, and the power of female fire to illuminate in times of darkness," Lively wrote alongside a picture of Ifill's comments.

"You constantly illustrate how connected we all are and can be when division feels like the only ending," Lively continued. "Thank you for your light, your fire, your work and your words."

In her comments about the actress for the magazine, Ifill wrote of the Lively who lives outside of the spotlight of red carpets and the Met Gala. "I never watched Gossip Girl," she admitted.

Ifill wrote, "The Blake Lively I know is a philanthropist and a student of our country's most intractable problems." She went on to recall when Lively and husband Ryan Reynolds reached out in 2019 "to make a contribution" to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

She shared that she's "always curious about the kind of research famous people do before they make that cold call to offer their support," before praising Lively for doing her "homework," adding that she admires her "curiosity, and her sincere work to understand the conditions that shape this country."

"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," wrote Ifill. "Her commitment to filling those gaps -- and becoming the most fully informed and prepared citizen -- is what I appreciate most about her."

She concluded her thoughts, penning, "Blake is a serious person. She's a risk taker. And she's committed to moving this country forward. For her children. And for mine."

The honor comes as Lively is embroiled in a bitter battle with her It Ends with Us director and costar. Lively filed a sexual harassment complaint against Baldoni in December 2024, accusing him of misconduct during production. She also alleged that Baldoni and his associates engaged in a retaliatory smear campaign designed to "destroy" her reputation. Baldoni has denied the allegations.

Baldoni then fired back with a lawsuit of his own against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, as well their publicist Leslie Sloane, Sloane's PR firm and the New York Times, alleging civil extortion and defamation. The suit is seeking no less than $400 million in damages. The case is currently scheduled to go to trial in March 2026.