“Blurred Lines” is one of the biggest hits from 2013. The song features Robin Thicke, T.I., and Pharrell but has since been banned from TV since the lyrics refer to non-consensual sex. Eight years later, the star of the music video, Emily Ratajkowski is speaking out on her traumatic experience on set with Thicke.
My Body, a Memoir About What It’s Like to be Female
Ratajkowski released a book titled My Body. This memoir deeply investigates what it is really like to be a woman in the 21st century. She rose to fame at 21 years-old and is known for showing off her body. Although this is a form of female empowerment, she discusses social norms and American culture’s commodification of women within her book.
This memoir features many personal stories from the model. What has really drawn attention is Ratajkowski’s impression of Thicke on the set of the popular video. She says he clearly overstepped her boundaries.
“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 in the book. “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?'”
Within the book, the model shared that she felt “naked for the first time that day,” but she was “desperate to minimize” what had happened.
Director Martel remembers this occurring on the set. She screamed at Thicke and called the shoot off. She also recalled that Thicke gave a lackluster apology to Ratajkowski. It was reported that both Ratajkowski and Thicke had been drinking before shooting the video. Even after the director said they could stop filming, Ratajkowski brushed the incident off and agreed to continue.
How Ratajkowski is Regaining Control in 2021
Back in April, Ratajkowski launched an NFT campaign in relation to reclaiming control of her body. This collection is named “Buying Myself Back: A Model for Redistribution.” Although it was launched a while ago, it doesn’t seem like the model will stop adding to it anytime soon.
For those who don’t know, an NFT is a non-fungible token. In short you can look at this model’s photograph for free, but you would need to pay a lot of money to own copyright to the image. Ratajkowski’s first NFT sold for $140,000 (175,000 after fees) back in May of 2021. The person who paid $140,000 now has a certificate verifying its authenticity and that cannot be copied.
