Emily Ratajkowski was a model with some success before she appeared in Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” music video, but that video put her on the map. Everyone wanted to know who she was, and she got so much work – as a model and an actress – from that video. Emily has always talked about the video with kind of a shrug, like it was just a job and who really cares. I always thought that was because she was embarrassed to make a name for herself doing a music video for such a lame song and a creepy artist. Nope, turns out Robin Thicke is just as gross as everyone has known for years. Thicke groped her on the set of the music video.
Emily Ratajkowski alleges that Robin Thicke crossed a line on the set of the video that brought both the singer and the model to international notoriety. Ratajkowski writes in her book My Body, set to be released next month, “Suddenly, out of nowhere, I felt the coolness and foreignness of a stranger’s hands cupping my bare breasts from behind. I instinctively moved away, looking back at Robin Thicke.” She said Thicke appeared drunk and his actions made her feel “the heat of humiliation” and “naked for the first time that day,” though she had been partially nude throughout the shoot. “I didn’t react—not really, not like I should have,” she writes.
Diane Martel, the video’s director, confirmed the incident to the Sunday Times of London: “I remember the moment that he grabbed her breasts, 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!’”
Disgusting. I believe Emily and I believe Diane Martel. I remember Emily talking about how she only agreed to do the nudity in the music video because of Diane, because there was a female director taking pains to make the young models feel comfortable and protected. And then there was Robin Thicke, assaulting one of the models. Ugh. We’ve always known he was a pig, but that doesn’t make it any better.
God, this song and video does not hold up at all.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid and screencaps from the video.
Not surprising. Hes a piece of sh!t.
Exactly. I read the headline and my first/only thought was “of course he did.”
Same.
Oh a guy shooting a music video about a song where the lyrics talk about r*ping women groped a women on set?!?!? I’m shocked! Shocked I tell you (sarcasm)
On a serious note, I’m glad the director stopped the shoot for the day. Some would have not said anything at all or worse, even supported it
Apparently Ratjakowski insisted on finishing the shoot afterwards. It’s sad and frustrating that she was so insistent, as she was probably trying to normalize everything as if it hadn’t happened, at the expense of her own dignity. But that’s part of what women do sometimes–we try to pretend that it was okay so there’s no immediate backlash.
R.T. is a giant douche.
She was likely also defending her reputation. A model who walks off a set will get a reputation as “difficult” and see her work dry up. She knew that (I assume every model knows that) and she likely insisted on finishing because she wanted to save the job. I don’t blame her, because that is the reality. I wish she had not had to do that, though.
Well, so now it’s confirmed water is wet. Poor Emily as no one knew his reputation at that time.
Glad Paula Patton left his ass.
Her career has really fallen off. I always wondered if he had something to do with it as he was really hot there at the time. And Alan thicke had a lot of friends in the business. She hasn’t done a ‘name’ movie or hit since they split.
Paula Patton has fallen off because she’s not a great actress. Nobody is listening to Robin on their casting decisions. He’s only doing stuff because of who his father is/was.
So sad that we create a false sense of security just by thinking that having another women in charge will help in eradicating this behavior. Diane did what any human being should have done. I consider her even more brave due to her being a female and taking a stand. Men need to understand there are no blurred lines. PERIOD.
Literally the final shot in that music video is Emily looking incredibly annoyed and unimpressed. It’s written all over her face she hated this shoot
Or, even worse… she was told to look dead in the eyes because that’s what they were going for. I refuse to watch the video to assess, but just the still shots give me the creeps. I hated him and this song then, hate them now.
A few years ago she called the video the bane of her existence.
Nooo !! not robin thicke ! who would have thought !
What is so hard about not touching what doesn’t belong to you? Like why do so many people (especially men) feel entitled to just grab a PERSON when they haven’t expressly said that you can touch them?! Good on Emily for speaking up on this. She has a lot of pretty insightful things to say about feminism and bodily autonomy in general so I’m sure this incident is framed within that context in her book.
THIS! A dude grazed my butt on the way to the restroom and i made sure to trip him on his way out.
hated the rapey song and gross video from day one. I remember when some guy friends showed it to me i was like… really? add in the copyright issues with the song and it’s a big NO for me. Robin Thicke is a loser.
I can’t forget that line: “what rhymes with hug me?” and silly naive me is all, “mug me? bug me? Oh. Drug me. Oh. Damn.”
It came out after my sibling was raped. It must have hurt a lot of victims of rape like it did my sibling. I really despise Robin Thicke and Pharrell for it.
It is hard to know where to start with this whole mess. The video is vile. The song is vile. Everyone involved is vile. Everyone.
It’s not really a situation where everyone involved is the same. Too often over the past 15 years or so when women- especially women who aren’t unanimously considered classy or chaste- report abuse, the response has been some version of “they’re both equally bad and responsible for this mess of a story. Team nobody.” There really is no comparison though.
Yeah I would love to know how Emily R. is supposedly at fault here for a man’s actions. She was a little-known model with really no power on that set who took a job.
What, no. Not everyone involved here. I don’t care if ER was totally naked the entire time. Nudity doesn’t make someone a lesser human, and it certainly doesn’t put a person on the same level as someone committing assault. End of story.
Welp, color me zero surprised.
the instructor of my exercise class always puts this song on. Then she skips Jay Z every time he comes on…like he’s offensive or something? Eyeroll.
next time (and every subsequent time) it comes on, say (really loudly) “OH, it’s the song about date rape!”
haha, perfect
Ugh, I used to work in a manufacturing department and one of the young women would literally *race* to the radio to turn up the volume on this song. Grim.
This song is horrifying and he’s gross so I’m entirely unsurprised. I’m very sorry this happened to her.
The only redeeming quality of the song was the hook they STOLE from Marvin Gaye. I’m so glad his family sued & WON!!
I have alway though she was beautiful. Her father is a tremendous artist. So sorry this happened to her
Marvin Gaye is not someone that we should champion in response to Robin Thicke. He was a known abuser, got involved with underage women, who knows what else. The history of this is so problematic.
My comment was solely about artistic integrity. Not in anyway championing Marvin Gaye a person. The family sued over copyright infringement. Marvin might have been a horrible person but still doesn’t mean it’s okay to steal
What’s crazy about the Blurred Lines video is that there were 3 models walking around and strutting yet somehow only Emily became a big deal for a minute because you see her in the censored version partially nude (I never watched the uncensored version, I don’t know if it exists). It just goes to show what a woman has to do to get ahead. She shouldn’t have had to be topless on set and now I wonder why she was the only one. It should have been all of them or none of them, it just seems unfair for her to be known for that. And I didn’t know the video was directed by a woman which makes it all the more weird. Anyways, I’m sorry but not surprised Robin Thicke was super gross to her during the shoot of the video.
It’s not her being topless on set that’s the problem. The problem is a gross dude who assaulted her. We need to stop talking about female nudity as some sort of modesty issue. Women having bodies = fine. Men treating women like objects for having bodies = not fine.
@Kristen: Well said. So true.
She is the only one who became famous, but I pretty sure they were all completely topless and wearing nude colored thongs in the video. I always wonder when people agree to do nudity- people tend to claim it’s for art or the story. What on earth does nudity accomplish artistically in this context?
I watched the PG version of the video linked here and only Emily appears topless. I do believe there’s a more uncensored version of the video and I don’t know if the other women are topless too. But in the censored version, only Emily is clearly topless in some of the scenes (not the entire video). And she’s the one that garnered the most attention out of the three models. And I don’t believe it’s because she’s more beautiful than them, the other two women are stunning too. It’s because it seems she was the only one who appeared topless but I could be wrong! Like I said, I haven’t watched the uncensored version and not very interested in trying to track it down.
If I’m remembering it correctly, Elle Evans (who is now married to Matt Bellamy) was topless aswell. I think the reasons why she stood out were: 1) she is more voluptuous than the others, 2) the only brunette. But I could be remembering it wrong, I refuse to watch it again.
They’re all topless, two brunette (one is a WOC) and one blonde. She got the most fame because she has amazing boobs that are big for a woman that skinny. That’s it. It was the boobs. 🤷🏼♀️
I forgot that T.I. was on the song. That makes the song even more cringeworthy. Didn’t know that was possible.
Ew, Jesus. It’s like the musical version of Trump’s cabinet. I’m only surprised R Kelly wasn’t included.
Not surprised at all. I hated this song when it came out. I never saw the video but this is gross. It was not THAT long ago either. I still hate the song and the video is bad too.
This doesn’t even include the quote that really broke my heart. She said she had felt empowered because the entire set was women and they were having a great time and then he groped her. This is what she said:
‘”With that one gesture, Robin Thicke had reminded everyone on set that we women weren’t actually in charge. I didn’t have any real power as the naked girl dancing around in his music video. I was nothing more than the hired mannequin,” she wrote.”
He put her in her place alright.
Also the shoot didn’t end. The director asked her if she was okay and she shrugged it off and they continued.
Weird Al’s “Word Crime” was a brilliant take on this song, and better than the original, which was stolen from Marvin Gaye….(music, not lyrics)
Thicke is disgusting, he just looks like a creepy dude.
OH. MY. GAWD. How did I never know about this absolute GEM of a song?!
I love Weird Al, and this is f*cking hilarious! Thank you for cluing me in!!!
Not at all surprising, but disgusting. I’m sorry Emily went through that.
I wish they’d not only stopped the shoot, but called the police and pressed charges for assault, but I guess we all know that’d never happen in that situation.
“ “I didn’t react—not really, not like I should have,” she writes.”
This part is heartbreaking too.
It’s the freezing response. When someone very aggravating happens to you out of the sudden, the instinctive reaction of your body is to freeze itself.
Date Rape theme song. Horrible.
I was curious, so I looked at the uncensored version on YouTube. All 3 models spend most of it topless, and in those nude colored thongs, 3 gorgeous women. But, as we know but Thicke obviously didn’t, that didn’t mean that they were his for the day. Also, in the PG version there is a wall with large letters “Robin Thicke Has A Big D”. That was disgusting enough, but in the other version the word Dick is spelled out. What a classy guy.
somehow they misspelled “is” in that sign. oops.