Blake Lively blasted for 'obvious PR move' after sharing her mother's trauma during TIME100 speech

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Blake Lively was blasted for sharing her mother's trauma during her speech at the TIME100 gala, with fans calling it an 'obvious PR move.'

The Gossip Girl star, 37, who was named one of TIME magazine's 100 most influential people, gave a lengthy speech at the event, held at Jazz at the Lincoln Center in New York City on Thursday.

In a video shared to social media, the actress — who sparked a furious response from Megyn Kelly on the red carpet — publicly talked about her mother's, 77, experience as a survivor of an assault by a coworker.

'I have so much to say about the last two years of my life, but tonight is not the forum,' Lively said, amid her ongoing bitter court battle with Justin Baldoni, whom she accused of sexual harassment, which he denied. Instead, she decided to speak about 'the feeling of being a woman who has a voice today.'

Lively shared that her life was 'influenced most' by her mother, Willie Elaine McAlpin, who, along with Lively's husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, accompanied her to the event. 

She explained her mom was the 'survivor of the worst crime someone can commit against a woman.'

Blake Lively, 37, was blasted for sharing her mother's trauma during her speech at the TIME100 gala on Thursday, with fans calling it an 'obvious PR move'

Lively shared that her life was 'influenced most' by her mother, Willie Elaine McAlpin, 77, who, along with Lively's husband Ryan Reynolds , 48, accompanied her to the event

'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,' she said. 

Lively stated that her mother credited a woman who shared a 'similar circumstance' on the radio with saving her life.

'The woman painfully and graphically shared how she escaped. And because of hearing that woman speak about 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.'

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She then called womanhood 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 that 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.' 

Lively called the 'superpower of female triumph' a 'basic human right,' and added, 'Never underestimate a woman's ability to endure pain.'

Towards the end of her speech she thanked 'every man, including my sweet husband [Ryan], who are kind and good when no one is watching.'

'And to all the communities across the gender, age, political, geographical, and racial spectrum who fight every day just to be safe, I see you,' she added.

Lively, who was named one of TIME magazine's 100 most influential people, talked about her mother's experience of being assaulted by a coworker, stating her mom was the 'survivor of the worst crime someone can commit against a woman'

'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,' she said

Lively expressed that as women grow up they eventually learn they are not safe in various spaces, including 'work, at home, in a parking lot in a medical office, online'

Lively also told the audience to 'never underestimate a woman's ability to endure pain', before thanking her 'sweet husband [Ryan]' and other men who 'are kind and good when no one is watching'

Many fans criticized the star for discussing her mother's ordeal, calling it an 'obvious PR move' amid her ongoing bitter court battle with Justin Baldoni, whom she accused of sexual harassment, which he denied

Others pointed out her silence on domestic violence while promoting her and Baldoni's film, It Ends With Us, which portrayed an abusive relationship 

'Why wasn’t she having these speeches when she was promoting the movie?? Instead she was promoting alcohol and naming drinks after the characters'

'Incredible how Blake Lively claims she’s not going to speak on her legal mess with Justin Baldoni—yet still manages to stain his name by casually tying him to a speech about rape and shame!'

'My mom is a victim so I know suffering too? What is the point in telling mom's story?' another person questioned

Many fans criticized the star for discussing her mother's ordeal, pointing out her silence on domestic violence while promoting It Ends With Us — directed by and co-starring Baldoni — which portrayed an abusive relationship. 

'Oh so now she is using her Mother’s SA to be likable??? But in August she didn’t mention DV when promoting a movie about DV. Interesting…' one person wrote. 

'Blake Lively used her Time100 speech to reveal her mother is a rape survivor—an obvious PR move to align with SA victims. Yet, with that personal connection to trauma, she still couldn’t figure out how to market a movie about DV? What’s next for her, a Peace Nobel Prize?' another added. 

'Incredible how Blake Lively claims she’s not going to speak on her legal mess with Justin Baldoni—yet still manages to stain his name by casually tying him to a speech about rape and shame!' 

'Why wasn’t she having these speeches when she was promoting the movie?? Instead she was promoting alcohol and naming drinks after the characters. don’t understand why they keep giving her a platform.'

'My mom is a victim so I know suffering too? What is the point in telling mom's story?' another person questioned. 

Elsewhere in her speech, Lively also discussed being an honoree 'in a time where the most valuable currency seems to be anger, it feels like an act of defiance to commune and celebrate all the good that is alive in the world.' 

As for being called influential, she said, 'How we use that matters. Who and what we stand up for, and what we stay silent about, what we monetize versus what we actually live, matters.'

The mother and daughter duo posed on the red carpet in glamorous gowns 

Blake shared a sweet moment with Elaine in front of the shutterbugs

Lively also sparked a furious response from Megyn Kelly, who told DailyMail.com Blake 'shouldn't be here.' Megyn accused her of 'bastardiz[ing] Me Too allegations' in her quest to sue Baldoni for sexual harassment

In her December complaint, Lively claimed Baldoni had acted unprofessionally on the set of the domestic abuse movie It Ends With Us in which the pair starred and Baldoni also directed

Blake arrived at the gala in a shimmering red off-the-shoulder gown that highlighted her cleavage and featured a modest train trailing behind her.

Her mom looked elegant in a flapper-inspired black dress with chevrons of black sequins, along with a sheer black section covering her chest and sleeves.

Ryan favored classic men's style with a black tuxedo and bow tie.

Lively sparked a furious response from Megyn Kelly at the gala on Thursday, following the actress' controversial inclusion on the publication's Most Influential People list.

The 54-year-old conservative journalist blasted Blake and her ongoing lawsuit against Justin in an impassioned rant while speaking to DailyMail.com on the red carpet.

According to Megyn, Blake — who left readers outraged over her TIME100 cover — 'shouldn't be here.'

At the TIME100 gala, Megyn ramped up her attack against the Gossip Girl star, accusing her of 'bastardiz[ing] Me Too allegations' in her quest to sue her It Ends With Us director and costar Justin for sexual harassment, which he has denied.

'It's a ridiculous joke. She shouldn't be here,' she said of Blake.

The film at the heart of the feud, based on the 2016 bestseller by Colleen Hoover, was released in August and was a box office hit 

'I think [Blake has] launched a fake Me Too allegation against [Justin], and she's lived to regret doing it, because virtually every allegation she has made has fallen apart,' Megyn added.

'So for her to be honored for doing that, to try to ruin a man over absolutely nothing, is a scandal.'

The red carpet feud erupted amid a new lawsuit filing in Blake and Justin's legal battle in which his production company and his publicist for his film It Ends With Us, Jennifer Abel, accused his embattled former publicist, Stephanie Jones, of allegedly plotting with Blake to cover up efforts to leak Abel's sensitive text messages to the actress.

Baldoni later followed up by launching a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively, her publicist and her husband Ryan — which all have denied as well — and he also filed a $250 million libel lawsuit against the New York Times for its reporting on her allegations.