Justin Baldoni challenges Blake Lively's intimacy coordinator complaint

Justin Baldoni is flipping the script on Blake Lively with alleged receipts that challenge her accusations of misconduct on the set of It Ends With Us.

The director, 40, included a series of text messages in his lawsuit against The New York Times to refute claims that he created an unsafe work environment. Lively, 37, has accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and improvising physical intimacy without her consent.

In court filings obtained by In Touch, Baldoni alleged that Lively refused to meet with the production’s intimacy coordinator before filming began, complicating scene planning. According to one alleged text exchange, Baldoni told Lively, “Just hired intimacy coordinator who I LOVE. Will set you up to meet/FT with her next week for intro.” Lively allegedly responded, “I feel good. I can meet her when we start [smiley face] thank you though!”

Baldoni claimed this forced him to meet with the coordinator alone and relay suggestions to Lively later. He also argued that collaborative discussions about character development, which included personal anecdotes, were misconstrued as inappropriate behavior.

Lively’s lawsuit paints a starkly different picture, claiming Baldoni spoke about his sex life on set and improvised unwanted physical contact. Her filing states, “Mr. Baldoni improvised physical intimacy that had not been rehearsed, choreographed, or discussed with Ms. Lively, with no intimacy coordinator involved.”