Ryan Reynolds Reacts To Blake Lively's Time Speech - And Reveals Her 'Coping Mechanisms' During Justin Baldoni Lawsuit Stress

Ryan Reynolds has nothing but admiration for his wife.

Blake Lively was recognized for her activism during Time‘s 100 Most Influential People of 2025 gala on Thursday, getting praise for her donation to the NAACP in 2019! (Of course, that was after she faced backlash for tying the knot on a plantation, but OK.) At the event, Blake delivered a speech where she did not talk about her sexual harassment lawsuit against Justin Baldoni. The evening was “not the forum,” apparently.

Instead, she opened up about how her mother, Willie Elaine McAlpin, who also attended the gala, nearly died from an attack by a “work acquaintance.” The actress didn’t get into details about the assault — but she acknowledged that an anonymous woman saved her mom’s life by sharing her own story of surviving a similar experience. Now, Blake also wants to use her voice to help others. Watch (below):

Blake Lively pays tribute to her mother, who survived an attack on her life before Lively was born, in a speech at the Time100 Gala in New York. https://t.co/u2TA6tyURX pic.twitter.com/xkC2eDo5Hn

— Variety (@Variety) April 25, 2025

Well, folks were not moved by the emotional speech! They called out the “obvious PR move.” Many even slammed the Gossip Girl alum for only speaking up for victims amid the backlash surrounding her legal battle rather than during the promotion of It Ends With Us, a film about domestic violence.

Oof!

The Time100 event didn’t do her any favors! But there is one person still in her corner: Ryan Reynolds. Alluding to Blake’s legal battle with Justin, the Deadpool star applauded her for her resilience! He told People in an interview at a “More to Parkinson’s” Panel with Acadia Pharmaceuticals at GH on the Park in New York City on Friday:

“I’m incredibly in awe of my wife in many ways. I don’t know that I’ve met somebody stronger.”

Regardless of what you think about Blake, we can all acknowledge how this time must be incredibly hard for her. It’s not easy to deal with constant hate online. But according to Ryan, she is handling everything gracefully… and with the help of caffeine. He joked:

“And her coping mechanisms are just coffee, which is amazing to me because I don’t know how I could hold what she holds and do it with [her] grace and strength. It’s pretty profound.”

She doesn’t even drink the gin he sells? Huh.

As for Blake’s words about her mom, he had only glowing reviews:

“To do that for her mom and share that story and pay it forward in that way, that saved her mom’s life, and really is the reason she’s here. I think it’s incredible in every sense of the word. There’s no word that actually serves it, the purpose it deserves.”

But of course, this is Ryan Reynolds. He had to end the chat with some levity and self-deprecating humor. When he was called a supportive hubby to Blake, he quipped: