What was meant to be a celebratory night for Blake Lively quickly turned contentious after political commentator Megyn Kelly publicly criticized the actress during the TIME100 Gala on Thursday.

Speaking to the Daily Mail on the red carpet at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Kelly said Lively was included in Time magazine's list of the "Most Influential People" of the year.

"It's a ridiculous joke," Kelly said. "She shouldn't be here. She has no influence over anything."

Kelly, 54, further claimed that Lively "launched a fake MeToo allegation" against actor and director Justin Baldoni, who worked with Lively on the movie "It Ends With Us."

"She's lived to regret doing it because virtually every allegation she has made has fallen apart," Kelly continued. "And so for her to be honored for doing that, to try to ruin a man over absolutely nothing, is a scandal."

According to Kelly, Time appeared to be more interested in star power than merit. "Obviously, [Time is] looking for big stars to come here and generate pages on their magazines, but that was very wrong," she added.

Lively Attends With Family Amid Ongoing Legal Dispute

The 37-year-old actress showed up to the black-tie occasion wearing an off-the-shoulder Zuhair Murad gown.

Her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, and her mother, Elaine Lively, also joined her.

Earlier that week, Reynolds had addressed the TIME100 Summit. While Lively was honored, her participation drew the ire of some users online who recently tried her and her husband, the actor's ongoing court battle with Baldoni. Lively sued the "Jane the Virgin" actor in December 2024 for sexual harassment and retaliation over one of their film sets. She accused Baldoni and his team of launching a smear campaign against her.

Baldoni, 41, has denied the allegations and responded with a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, and their longtime publicist, Leslie Sloane, claiming defamation and extortion. Their trial is set for March 2026.

Meanwhile, Kelly kept up her commentary on the sidelines of the gala, joking that she was hoping to catch a glimpse of both Lively and Meghan Markle.

"They've provided me with so many hours of content," she said. "I have a feeling [Lively is] going to be avoiding me. I won't be avoiding anybody. I'm good."

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Blake Lively, Megyn Kelly