Intimacy Coordinators Say Blake Lively’s Legal Dispute Shows Need for Their Role | Blake Lively

The filming at the center of Blake Lively’s high-profile legal row proves that intimacy coordination should be considered as necessary on set as organizing stunts, leading consultants have said.

Lively filed a civil complaint against co-star and director Justin Baldoni just before Christmas, accusing him of sexual harassment during the filming of It Ends with Us – a romantic drama released last year. Baldoni denies the claims.

His legal team retaliated by releasing a video of the pair going through three takes of a scene in which the pair slow dance in a bar, which Lively claims in her lawsuit is an example of his inappropriate behavior.

But while his lawyers claim the video exonerates him, Lively’s team said it further proved she was feeling uncomfortable in scenes that she said had not been choreographed.

Intimacy coordinators say the myriad allegations and counter-allegations show the importance of having a professional on set to convey intense scenes with complicated power dynamics.

“Dance can absolutely be intimate and this show to have an intimacy coordinator on set should be a given,” Ita O’Brien, who pioneered the role, told the Guardian.

She added: “In the past, some people would say, ‘I do my own stunts. I don’t need a stunt coordinator’. Whereas today, if there’s a stunt or a fight, you have a stunt coordinator there to offer their skills .It should now be the same with intimacy coordinators.”

The video depicted Lively and Baldoni discussing how they spend time with their spouses and joking about the size of Baldoni’s nose. Baldoni’s team says it gives context to Lively’s claim that Baldoni told her she smelled good, showing the comment was in response to Lively talking about her spray tan.

But Lively’s legal team called the video “damning” and said it showed Baldoni repeatedly “attempting to kiss” her, “rubbing his face and mouth against her neck, flicking her lip with his thumb, caressing her … and talking to her out of character”.

They alleged that each moment was improvised by Baldoni “without prior discussion or consent, and no intimacy coordinator present”.

On Thursday, Mia Schachter, an intimacy coordinator on Apple TV+’s Lessons in Chemistry and HBO’s Insecure, told the Hollywood Reporter she could see Lively trying to “appease” Baldoni and “keep a smile on her face”.

Arielle Zadok, an intimacy coordinator and sex educator, claimed that it was clear that the actors were “negotiating the scene in real time” when an intimacy coordinator would have handled everything in advance.

She added: “This is one instance where I would definitely have had a conversation with Blake to check in on what I was picking up, ask the director for more clarity on the specific beats and make sure everyone was clear and confident before they made another roof.”

Zadok said it was also important to note that “the inherent power dynamic between actor and director is obvious”.

O’Brien, who has worked on dozens of hit movies and TV shows, said in general she encouraged actors “not to bring their personal and private lives into their character’s physical attributes” because the two “should never be confused.”

Tommy Ross-Williams, Chair of Bectu union Intimacy Coordinators and Intimacy Coordinator on Sky Atlantic’s Sweetpea, said “many important lines are blurred” when actors try to negotiate the scale of an intimate scene while performing.

“The boundaries between what happens in character versus out, what are the differences in creative vision versus expression of personal boundaries, as well as the lack of distinction between when Mr. Baldoni acts as Ms. Lively’s co-star versus as the film’s writer/director (and her employer),’ he said.

Asked how an intimacy coordinator would approach a romantic dance scene, O’Brien said, “It starts with reading the script and questioning why the scene is in the story.

“From that conversation, the physicality will emerge. We always invite the director to think about what they really want to capture. We gain agreement and consent for each stroke – whether it’s fingers intertwining, a hand around the neck or fingers running through someone’s hair.”

The intimacy coaches interviewed acknowledged that they were not physically present on the set and are not privy to the full details or context of the controversy between Baldoni and Lively. They exclusively shared their views on watching the footage.