Featured Image Credit: @emrata/Instagram / Interscope
Topics: Celebrity, Music, Emily Ratajkowski
Ali Condon
Topics: Celebrity, Music, Emily Ratajkowski
Content warning: this article contains references to sexual misconduct
Emily Ratajkowski first caught the world's attention back in 2013 when she appeared in the music video for Robin Thicke's hit song 'Blurred Lines'.
But years later, the model spoke out against Thicke, accusing him of touching her inappropriately on set.
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The song 'Blurred Lines' was wildly controversial and has even banned in across UK university campuses because of its attitude toward sex and consent.
Despite that, it was one of the biggest tracks of 2013, holding the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for a whopping 12 weeks.
EmRata appeared as one of three models in the music video, alongside Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams, and TI.
Two versions of the video were filmed - one where the models were fully clothed, and another where the three models appeared topless.
Emily claimed that, although she felt comfortable filming both versions at first, an inappropriate moment with Robin at the end of filming left her feeling 'humiliated'.
Originally, Emily's allegations against Robin were leaked without her consent, though she later spoke openly about it in her 2021 book My Body.
"Suddenly, out of nowhere, I felt the coolness and foreignness of a stranger’s hands cupping my bare breasts from behind," she wrote in the book.
"I instinctively moved away, looking back at Robin Thicke. He smiled a goofy grin and stumbled backward, his eyes concealed behind his sunglasses."
She claimed that Robin had had a bit to drink at this point of the shoot.
When director Diane Martel asked her if she was okay, Emily wrote that she wanted to 'minimize' the situation, so she 'pushed [her] chin forward and shrugged, avoiding eye contact, feeling the heat of humiliation.'
Diane came out soon after and told The Sunday Times that she, too, remember the alleged encounter.
"I remember the moment that he grabbed her breasts," she said, "one in each hand. He was standing behind her as they were both in profile.
"I screamed in my very aggressive Brooklyn voice, 'What the f**k are you doing? That's it! The shoot is over'."
She added that Robin 'sheepishly apologized' and noted that he probably wouldn't have acted out if he had 'been sober'.
Emily later told Howard Stern that, at some point between that day on-set and now, Robin 'blocked' her on social media so she hasn't heard from him since.
"Him blocking me was the moment that made me remember that moment on set, because I was kind of trying to think, 'what have I said in the press that would p**s him off? Why would he have blocked me?'," she told The Howard Stern Show.
"I don't know if he even realises he blocked me, honestly. It was a long time ago, I've been blocked for years and years."
In another interview with Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live!, Emily was asked if she had heard from the singer at all.
"I have not. I have not, no," she responded.
Then, when asked if she ever expected a response from him, she simply said 'no'.
"The essay wasn't written as a gotcha moment. It's about me sort of setting the record straight and sharing the whole truth and my experience with the world," she explained.
UNILAD has reached out to Robin Thicke's record label, Interscope Records, for comment.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact RAINN via its helpline on 800 656 HOPE (4673) or its online chat, available 24/7 seven days a week.