Demi Moore kicked off quite the controversy when she struck a pose with Blake Lively at the Time 100 Gala on Thursday night in the first major public show of support for the struggling star.

The list of the most 100 influential people mixed actors, musicians, athletes, and activists, and some were far more notorious than others, including Blake and Georgina Chapman, Harvey Weinstein‘s ex-wife, who Demi also posed with.

Blake, 37, who is currently embroiled in a bitter legal battle after accusing her It Ends With Us costar Justin Baldoni, 41, of sexual harassment, which he denies, was in attendance and struck up a friendly conversation inside the star-studded function with Demi, 62.

Now, an insider has exclusively revealed to DailyMail.com the truth behind the pictures and the unexpected celebrity friendship.

‘This was not just a fake red carpet encounter,’ the insider claimed about the photographs.

‘Although Blake and Demi don’t hang out, they have been in touch.’

Demi Moore kicked off quite the controversy when she struck a pose with Blake Lively at the Time 100 Gala on Thursday night in Manhattan
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Demi Moore kicked off quite the controversy when she struck a pose with Blake Lively at the Time 100 Gala on Thursday night in Manhattan

Blake, 37, who's currently embroiled in a bitter legal battle with her former It Ends With Us costar Justin Baldoni, was in attendance and posed inside the star-studded function with Demi, 62
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Blake, 37, who’s currently embroiled in a bitter legal battle with her former It Ends With Us costar Justin Baldoni, was in attendance and posed inside the star-studded function with Demi, 62

A source told DailyMail.com: 'This was not just a fake red carpet encounter. Although Blake and Demi don't hang out, they have been in touch'
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A source told DailyMail.com: ‘This was not just a fake red carpet encounter. Although Blake and Demi don’t hang out, they have been in touch’

‘Demi is supporting Blake and she finds it disturbing that she is getting so much hate,’ the insider said amid claims celebrities including Taylor Swift have been distancing themselves.

The insider added that Demi ‘knows how much sexual harassment happens in the industry and for many years prior to #MeToo it was brushed under the rug.’

Demi is familiar with the #MeToo movement, because she was a victim sexual assault, which she previously opened up about, although her experience was quite different from Blake’s, who is not claiming sexual assault. The insider told DailyMail.com her decision to speak out ‘was one of the hardest things she has ever done.’

In 2019, Demi claimed that her mother Virginia King would take her to bars to help get attention from men. The actress said that one night she returned home to find an older man, LA nightclub landlord and family friend Val Dumas, who raped her.

‘If I were to look back I would say I blinded myself and I lost myself,’ the former Brat Pack member said of the incident at the time.

The inside source told Daily Mail that Demi ‘didn’t think people would believe her and she kept it inside for so long.’

At TIME’s event, Blake talked about her mother Willie Elaine McAlpin’s experience as a survivor of an assault by a coworker, saying she was a ‘survivor of the worst crime someone can commit against a woman.’

‘I have so much to say about the last two years of my life, but tonight is not the forum,’ Blake said.

Demi is reportedly standing by Blake having been a victim of a sexual assault, which she previously opened up about
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Demi is reportedly standing by Blake having been a victim of a sexual assault, which she previously opened up about

Elaine Lively, Blake, Demi and Georgina Chapman, who was previously married to Harvey Weinstein, posed at the attend the 2025 TIME100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center
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Elaine Lively, Blake, Demi and Georgina Chapman, who was previously married to Harvey Weinstein, posed at the attend the 2025 TIME100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center

Despite the friendly photographs, the insider admitted that Demi is ‘aware that some of what Justin is claiming could be true.’

Blake filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, in December, accusing him of sexual harassment and creating a ‘hostile work environment on set.’

He retaliated with his own $400 million filing against the actress, along with her husband, Ryan Reynolds, 48, accusing the couple of trying to tarnish his reputation. All parties deny the allegations.

Demi is also aware of what it is like to stand accused of sexual harassment.

In 2003, she was sued for more than $200,000 in damages and accused of sexual harassment by Lawrence Bass, her former Idaho ranch manager.  Lawrence alleged that she made unwanted sexual advances and fired him after he rejected them.

He claimed the situation mirrored a scenario in her feature film Disclosure, where a character falsely accuses her male co-star of sexual harassment.

While the case was ultimately dismissed, it made massive headlines at the time.