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Blake Lively, recently named one of TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People, delivered a powerful speech during the Time100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City, paying tribute to her mother, Willie Elain McAlpin. The actress, accompanied by her mother and husband Ryan Reynolds, reflected on her mother's experience as a survivor of assault and acknowledged the silent strength of womanhood.
"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. The actor explained that her mother's survival was influenced by a moment of unexpected solidarity. "She has always credited her beating heart today with the story she heard from another woman in a similar circumstance, speaking on the radio as my mom drove home one day," she said.
Lively continued, "The woman painfully and graphically shared how she escaped, and because of hearing that woman speak to her experience instead of shutting down in fear and unfair shame, my mom is alive today. She was saved by a woman whose name she'll never know. I am alive... because that woman not only survived, but she told others how."
Calling this a "silent torch of womanhood," Lively spoke about the unspoken bond among women and their resilience: "We don't let our daughters know, but one day we break their hearts by letting them in on the secret... that they are not, and will likely never be safe... in any space they inhabit. Physically, emotionally, professionally."
Despite the emotional tone, some critics online accused Lively of using her mother's trauma as a "PR move," citing her ongoing legal battle with co-star Justin Baldoni. Lively, who has accused Baldoni of harassment and defamation during the filming of It Ends With Us, briefly addressed the controversy, saying, "I have so much to say about the last two years of my life, but tonight is not the forum."
Lively closed her speech by thanking "every man, including my sweet husband who are kind and good when no one is watching," and acknowledged those "across the gender, age, political, geographical, and racial spectrum who fight every day just to be safe."
