Emily Ratajkowski has come forward with claims that Robin Thicke groped her on the set of the music video for the hugely popular 2013 song, “Blurred Lines.”
The accusation came eight years after the music video‘s release, which showed artists Robin Thicke, T.I., and Pharell Williams dancing around nude models, including Ratajkowski.
In the supermodel’s upcoming book, “My Body,” she retold the experience of the sexual assault on set. London’s The Sunday Times published an excerpt of the text.
“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 wrote. “He smiled a goofy grin and stumbled backward, his eyes concealed behind sunglasses. My head turned to the darkness beyond the set.”
Ratajkowski recounted initially enjoying the shoot until Thicke came onto set visibly intoxicated. After the incident, music video director Diane Martel reportedly called out to Ratajkowski, who was 21 years old at the time, to ask if she was okay.
“I remember the moment that he grabbed her breasts. One in each hand. He was standing behind her as they were both in profile,” Martel confirmed to The Sunday Times. “I screamed in my very aggressive Brooklyn voice, ‘What the f– are you doing, that’s it!! The shoot is over!!'”
“Robin sheepishly apologized,” Martel continued. “As if he knew it was wrong without understanding how it might have felt for Emily.”
The model/actress then detailed that she felt “naked for the first time that day” and was “desperate to minimize what happened.”
“I pushed my chin forward and shrugged, avoiding eye contact, feeling the heat of humiliation pump through my body. I didn’t react–not really, not like I should have,” she wrote.
Though successful and widely popular at the time of its release, “Blurred Lines” has also come under fire over the years for its misogynistic lyrics and promotion of rape culture. Lines like “I hate these blurred lines/I know you want it” seem to exemplify these claims.
Neither Ratajkowski or Thicke have commented on The Sunday Times‘ report.
“My Body,” a collection of essays exploring “feminism, sexuality, and power, of men’s treatment of women and women’s rationalizations for accepting that treatment,” will be available for pre-order before its release on November 9.
Art Daniella Sison
