In her new book My Body, Emily Ratajkowski has accused Robin Thicke of sexually assaulting her on the set of the Blurred Lines music video.
In the now infamous music video, Ratajkowski and two other models dance topless. I remember every boy in my year level at school watching the Unrated version and gawking over it. Now, most people would understand the inherent problem with the video and more notably… the lyrics.
The song is literally about when a girl says no, but means yes. Thicke’s lyrics of “I hate these blurred lines, I know you want it” is about the blurred lines of consent. But here’s the thing with consent: there are no blurred lines, no means no.
Ratajkowski has now opened up about working with Thicke on that music video and recalls that the singer allegedly cupped her breasts from behind.
“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,” Ratajkowski says in her book that is set to be released next month.
“He smiled a goofy grin and stumbled backward, his eyes concealed behind his sunglasses. My head turned to the darkness beyond the set. (The director, Diane Martel’s) voice cracked as she yelled out to me, ‘Are you okay?.’”
The Sunday Times reached out to Martel, who confirmed the allegations.
“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 fuck are you doing? That’s it!! The shoot is over!!’”
What’s more upsetting is that Emily Ratajkowski remembers feeling “humiliation” in the moment but not reacting. It’s a problem that many women face in those moments, where they are helpless and kick themselves later for not saying anything. But the onus shouldn’t be on them to react, it should be on the perpetrator to not behave like that.
Rolling Stone reached out to Thicke about the allegations, but he did not immediately respond to their request for comment.
Help is available.
If you require immediate assistance, please call 000.
If you’d like to speak to someone about sexual violence, please call the 1800 Respect hotline on 1800 737 732 or chat online.
Under 25? You can reach Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
