British actor Rahul Kohli has been vocal about having intimacy coordinators on the movie and television sets, given how crucial they are when it comes to the security and comfort of performers at times of personal situations. The words of Rahul Kohli resurfaced after recent claims by Blake Lively, who filed a lawsuit against director and co-star Justin Baldoni of It Ends with Us, accusing the latter of serious misbehaviour and a toxic workplace.
According to Lively’s accusation, Justin Baldoni transgressed professional boundaries, filmed scenes of intimate acts without her consent or prior negotiation and created a hostile setting that emotionally distressed her. Without an intimacy coordinator on set, according to one article, Baldoni frequently included spontaneous physical intimacy in shots like biting and sucking on Lively’s lip. For this reason, amid the case that makes Hollywood go against Baldoni’s actions in disrespecting industry standards, Blake Lively has gained massive support in Hollywood.
Known for his role in iZombie, Kohli brought to fore through social media the disparities regarding safety regulations on movie sets. He argues that since stunt coordinators are always needed, intimacy coordinators are not. Fed up with the system, Kohli said, “This shouldn’t be a question,” he pointed out that it is actresses who are being left vulnerable time and again due to the unfair task of accepting or rejecting an intimacy coordinator.
Kohli underscored that having an intimacy coordinator should be as routine as having a stunt coordinator. In addition, he termed individuals opposing these practices “walking red flags” in the industry. The comments made by Kohli resonate with increasing demands for sterner safeguards to safeguard the privacy of players in personal scenes.
Following the Lively case, which has emphasized the urgent need for greater accountability and respect in the industry, Hollywood executives have increasingly taken the side of the required intimacy coordinators.
