Featured Image Credit: Interscope/emrata/Instagram
Topics: Celebrity, Emily Ratajkowski
Rhiannon Ingle
Topics: Celebrity, Emily Ratajkowski
Content warning: this article contains references to sexual misconduct.
Emily Ratajkowski, 31, has revealed that she hasn't heard a single thing from Robin Thicke, 45, after her claims that he groped her back in 2013.
The model accused the singer of inappropriately touching her on the set of the 'Blurred Lines' music video - the project which arguably sky-rocketed Ratajkowski's career.
The claims were leaked without Ratajkowski's consent last year and Thicke has since been totally silent on the matter.
Advert
An excerpt from Ratajkowski's debut book, My Body, that detailed the alleged groping was leaked in October of last year.
The excerpt was taken from a much longer essay within the book and recalled the then-22-year-old's experience with Thicke on the music video set.
The song ended up proving to be very controversial - with the title in particular being at the heart of the scandal
The track - which ended up being banned in several places - was immediately criticised upon its release for trivialising sexual violence as well as objectifying women with the lyrics, 'I know you want it', being at the core of the outrage.
However, with that said, it did end up holding the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for a total of 12 whole weeks in the year of its release - almost 10 years ago now.
Two versions of the music video were filmed: one censored version and another showing Ratajkowski alongside two other models topless.
The model explains in the leaked essay that she was fine to film both versions yet became very uncomfortable when Thicke 'returned to the set a little drunk to shoot just with [her]'.
She wrote: "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.
"He smiled a goofy grin and stumbled backward, his eyes concealed behind his sunglasses.
"My head turned to the darkness beyond the set. [Director Diane Martel’s] voice cracked as she yelled out to me, 'Are you okay?'"
After the excerpt had been leaked without Ratajkowski's permission, director Diane Martel supported the claims telling the Sunday Times that she had in fact witnessed the encounter that the model wrote about.
"I remember the moment that he grabbed her breasts. One in each hand," the director said.
"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 recalled.
Ratajkowski spoke up against the leak and how 'frustrating' the media coverage of it was.
Speaking at a red carpet event in October of last year, she revealed: "It’s been hard for me, I really like to have control over my image and I wrote this book of essays to share the whole story and all sides of it."
"I feel like it turns into a clickbait frenzy and all of a sudden words like 'sexual assault' and 'allegations' are getting thrown around rather than people reading the actual essay," Ratajkowski added.
The model then appeared on Watch What Happens Live the month after - in which the full book had now been officially released - when host Andy Cohen asked if she'd heard anything back from Thicke.
"I have not. I have not, no," she responded.
Then, when asked if she ever expected a response from Thicke, Ratajkowski 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.
Thicke has not yet publicly responded to Ratajkowski's essay.
Tyla has reached out to Robin Thicke's record label, Interscope Records, for comment.