Blake Lively’s spot on the Time 100 Most Influential People list has sparked backlash online, with critics calling the choice “disgusting” and “embarrassing.”
The Gossip Girl star’s name was placed in the Titans section among other celebrities like tennis legend Serena Williams, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and podcast superstar Joe Rogan.
Lively garnered the honor amid her legal battle with Justin Baldoni, her co-star and director on last year's movie It Ends With Us.
In the article, the Green Lantern star was praised in the magazine by civil rights attorney Sherrilyn Ifill, former head of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, who highlighted the $1 million donation Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds made to the organization in 2019.
Soon after the news went viral, the netizen expressed their resentment on Lively’s name on the Time 100 Most Influential People list
“You pretty screwed yourself @TIME adding Blake Lively for something she did in 2019 to save face from having her wedding at a plantation” one user wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Another noted, “It is clear to everyone to get on these list you just have to pay a price! @TIME you have NO credibility!”
The third added, “The fact that Blake Lively made the Time 100 list is disgusting!” while another commented, “She & Ryan Reynolds NEVER supported the black community before. Until it was known that they married on a slave plantation! How much did they pay for that article?”
Notably, Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynold are currently in headlines for the lawsuit on Justin Baldoni, her co-star of It Ends With Us.
