Emily Ratajkowski makes her first red carpet appearance since accusing Robin Thicke of sexual assault – as the singer breaks cover for a shopping trip with fiancée April Love Geary
- Ratajkowski, 30, claims in her upcoming book My Body that Thicke, now 44, assaulted her on the set of the music video for his hit Blurred Lines in 2013
- She alleged that the R&B star seemed a ‘little drunk’ during the shoot, and that he ‘cupped her bare breasts’ in his hands while standing behind her
- The video’s director, Diane Martel, confirmed she witnessed the incident and screamed ‘What the f*** are you doing’ at Thicke, who then became ‘sheepish’
- The musician has yet to comment on the allegations however Ratajkowski’s claims sparked a firestorm of criticism on social media
- Many drew attention to past controversies surrounding the Blurred Lines video and lyrics, which have previously been slammed for ‘perpetuating rape culture’
Emily Ratajkowski attended her first red carpet since accusing Robin Thicke of sexually assaulting her, on the set of the Blurred Lines video in 2013, over the weekend.
The 30-year-old supermodel put on a brave face as she joined actor Adrian Grenier and more celebrities at the first BSV Blockchain NFT Auction and Cocktail Party, as Robin himself emerged following the claims on Monday.
For the occasion, Emily sported a chic, oversized grey suit, silver necklace and a pair of black high heels.
Brave: Emily Ratajkowski attended her first red carpet since accusing Robin Thicke of sexually assaulting her on the set of the Blurred Lines video in 2013
The beauty also rocked a glamorous makeup look, which included a nude matte lipstick, heavy hand of blush and a few layers of mascara.
Meanwhile Robin himself emerged for the first time since Emily’s claims, with the singer seen heading to the shops with his fiancé April Love Geary.
The pair were joined by their two daughters Mia and Lola, as they shopped for Halloween decorations at a 99c store in Los Angeles on Sunday. Their youngest child, son Luca, was not pictured with them.
Ratajkowski’s appearance came just hours after she accused Thicke of groping her in a passage from her essay collection My Body, out next month, published by The Sunday Times over the weekend.
In an excerpt of her upcoming essay collection My Body, Ratajkowski claimed that the 44-year-old R&B singer had groped her bare breasts from behind while she believed him to be intoxicated.
Emerges: Her appearance came as Robin emerged for the first time since the claims surfaced, with the singer heading out on a shopping trip with his fiancée April Love Geary
Pictured: Thicke was seen shopping at a budget shop in Los Angeles with his fiancée April Love Geary, 26, and two of their three children
Pushing through: Emily put on a brave face as she joined stars at the first BSV Blockchain NFT Auction and Cocktail Party for an evening of cocktails and canapes at Guastavino’s
The Gone Girl actress has been keeping a low profile since the Sunday Times of London reported that she claimed Robin Thicke had fondled her in a forthcoming essay.
Ratajkowski wrote that the musician allegedly reached around her from behind and cupped her breasts in both hands.
At the time, the duo were standing alone on the set and the model was naked from the waist up for the controversial video which catapulted both her and Thicke’s careers, though it was also criticized for promoting date rape culture.
Classy: For the occasion, the model sported a chic, oversized grey suit, silver necklace and a pair of black high heels
Cool girlr: The beauty also rocked a glamorous makeup look, which included a nude matte lipstick, heavy hand of blush and a few layers of mascara
Coming forward: Her outing came just hours after she accused Thicke of groping in a passage from her essay collection My Body, out next month, published by The Sunday Times over the weekend
DailyMail.com has reached out to representatives for Ratajkowski for comment. Multiple attempts by the Times to contact Thicke’s reps were also unanswered.
The singer didn’t appear concerned when the allegations were reported, as he posted a video to Instagram of himself watching The Little Mermaid movie with his young children at home Saturday afternoon.
At the time of the video shoot, Thicke was married to actress Paula Patton, with whom he shares an 11-year-old son, Julian Fuego Thicke.
Shocking: In an excerpt of her upcoming essay collection My Body she claimed that the R&B singer had groped her bare breasts from behind while she believed him to be intoxicated
Opening up: The Gone Girl actress has been keeping a low profile since the Sunday Times of London reported that she claimed Robin Thicke had fondled her in a forthcoming essay
The two separated in 2014, and Patton cited in her divorce filing his alleged abuse toward her, as well as drug abuse and infidelity as reasons for their separation. He now has three children with April Love Geary.
In 2018, Ratajkowski married Bear-McClard, a film producer best known for working on the Adam Sandler thriller Uncut Gems and the Robert Pattinson–starring crime film Good Time.
She gave birth to their first child, a son called Sylvester Apollo Bear, in March.
Unacceptable: Ratajkowski wrote that the R&B star reached around her from behind and cupped her breasts in both hands
Ratajkowski wrote that the shoot — which featured an all-female team where the only men allowed were the performers — was fun until Thicke appeared to get ‘a little drunk’ and his behavior changed.
‘Suddenly, out of nowhere, I felt the coolness and foreignness of a stranger’s hands cupping my bare breasts from behind,’ she alleges.
‘I instinctively moved away, looking back at Robin Thicke.’
Ratajkowski claims the singer-songwriter ‘stumbled backward’ and smiled at her, before the set director — who noticed what had happened — stepped in.
So sad: At the time, the duo were standing alone on the set and the model was naked from the waist up for the controversial video which catapulted both her and Thicke’s careers, though it was also criticized for promoting date rape culture
‘He smiled a goofy grin and stumbled backward, his eyes concealed behind his sunglasses,’ she writes.
‘My head turned to the darkness beyond the set. [Director Diane Martel’s] voice cracked as she yelled out to me, ‘Are you okay?”
In the book, Ratajkowski says she felt ‘the heat of humiliation pump through’ her body after the alleged fondling and suddenly ‘felt naked for the first time that day.’
Speaking out: Ratajkowski pictured with Thicke during the Blurred Lines in 2013
Intoxicated: Ratajkowski writes that Thicke — whom she believed to be ‘drunk’ — grabbed her from behind, which was spotted by the director, Diane Martel; Thick and Rajatakowski seen with Pharrell Williams (L)
The supermodel says she didn’t speak out in the moment saying she felt ‘desperate to minimize’ what happened.
‘I pushed my chin forward and shrugged, avoiding eye contact, feeling the heat of humiliation pump through my body,’ the book reads.
‘I didn’t react — not really, not like I should have.’
Ratajkowski says she is speaking out years later as she didn’t let herself come to terms with what had happened at the time.
Adding insult to injury: She says she was then reminded of the alleged sexual assault when she noticed Thicke had blocked her on Instagram (Robin is pictured on The Masked Singer)
She says she was then reminded of the alleged sexual assault when she noticed Thicke had blocked her on Instagram.
Set director Martel confirmed Ratajkowski’s account of the incident in the Times’ report.
‘I remember the moment that he grabbed her breasts, one in each hand,’ she told the paper.
‘He was standing behind her as they were both in profile. I screamed in my very aggressive Brooklyn voice, ‘What the f*** are you doing, that’s it! The shoot is over!”
According to her, Thicke had been drinking and ‘sheepishly’ apologized after the alleged groping incident and acted as if he was ‘contrite’.
‘As if he knew it was wrong without understanding how it might have felt for Emily,’ she said.
Martel said she believes Thicke’s actions were spurred by his drunken state.
Witness: The video’s director, Diane Martel, said she immediately halted the shoot before the alleged victim said they could go on. ‘I don’t think [Thicke] would have done this had he been sober,’ she speculated
Essays: Ratajkowski makes the damning allegation in her new book ‘My Body’ (above)
‘I don’t think he would have done this had he been sober,’ she said.
Martel said she halted the shoot and told the record company it was over but the alleged victim ‘said we could go on’.
The director described Ratajkowski as ‘very professional’ and ‘the star of the video.’
‘We kept on and Emily was phenomenal. She’s really the star of the video,’ she said, adding that the model was ‘mocking’ Thicke and ‘the male gaze’ with her ‘ferocious energy.’
‘She’s playful, not seductive. And quite hilarious.’
However, she lamented that Thicke’s actions undermined the feeling of female empowerment she had hoped to create on the set.
The aim had been to flip the gender power roles on their heads with semi-naked women spurning the advances of the men.
Not a fan: Ratajkowski previously described Blurred Lines video as the ‘bane’ of her ‘existence’ to InStyle UK in 2015; seen last month in Italy
‘With that one gesture, Robin Thicke had reminded everyone on set that we women weren’t actually in charge,’ she said.
‘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.’
While this is the first time Ratajkowski has spoken out about the alleged groping incident, the 30-year-old has described the Blurred Lines video as the ‘bane’ of her ‘existence.’
‘I wasn’t into the idea at all at first. I think I came off as a bit annoyed in the video,’ she admitted in a 2015 profile for InStyle UK.
‘Now, it’s the bane of my existence. When anyone comes up to me about Blurred Lines, I’m like, are we seriously talking about a video from three years ago?’
Ex-wife: At the time of the video shoot, Thicke was married to actress Paula Patton (pictured together in 2014), with whom he shares an 11-year-old son Julian Fuego Thicke
This isn’t the first time Thicke has been accused of groping a woman.
In 2013, a socialite posted a photo of the married singer groping her butt on her Instagram page at a party following the MTV VMAs. Thicke’s wife was also at the party at the time.
Lana Scolaro, then a student living in New York City, did not seem concerned about the grab, and in 2014 – after Thicke split with his first wife Paula Patton – told TMZ ‘I’d love to grab a drink with him if he asked’.
Blurred Lines went to number one worldwide but it was the video of the three semi-naked models — Ratajkowski, Elle Evans and Jessi M’Bengue — along with Thicke, Pharrell Williams and rapper T.I. that captured the most attention.
While the initial version of the video didn’t feature nudity, Thicke released a second cut a week later that included topless footage of the three models.
The explicit video and the song’s lyrics – which included ‘I hate these blurred lines, I know you want it’ and ‘Must wanna get nasty’ – sparked instant controversy.
Rape victims said the lyrics were similar to those spoken by their attackers and it was slammed for promoting rape culture, sexism and the objectification of women.
Moving on: Thicke is now with April Love Geary (pictured together in February 2020), whom he reportedly met in 2014. They have three children together
This February, Thicke claimed there was ‘no negative intentions’ with the nature of the video and lyrics but admitted he wouldn’t release a song like it today.
‘But then it did open up a conversation that needed to be had. And it doesn’t matter what your intentions were when you wrote the song… the people were being negatively affected by it,’ he said.
‘And I think now, obviously, culture, society has moved into a completely different place. You won’t see me making any videos like that ever again!’
But, despite the controversy, Blurred Lines video catapulted both Ratajkowski and Thicke further into the spotlight.
Ratajkowski has since expanded from modeling into acting, and now writing.
She is also an advocate for women’s health issues.
Meanwhile, the song launched Thicke’s music career.
In February of this year, he returned with his eighth studio album On Earth, And In Heaven, and is also a judge on The Masked Singer.
Following the break-up of his marriage, Thicke has kept a lower profile.
He moved on with April Love Geary, whom he reportedly met in 2014.
Thicke claimed in court when he and Pharrell Williams were sued by the estate of Marvin Gaye over plagiarism that he had not actually written any of Blurred Lines, despite being listed on the project as a songwriter.
At the time of the original ruling that Williams and Thicke had stolen from the song, some legal scholars and copyright experts excoriated the decision, claiming that it was based on a general feeling that the two songs were similar, rather than being focused on specific musical aspects that they shared.
In a 2015 piece for The New Yorker, legal scholar Tim Wu wrote that the decision was a ‘serious error’ because it focused on superficial similarities.
‘The Gaye estate’s copyright covers only the notes of his song (the composition), and not the way it was played (the sound recording). These copyrights are separate,’ Wu wrote.
He claimed the judge was ‘legally obliged to throw out the case,’ rather than letting the jury come to its original conclusion, as the note sequences in Blurred Lines aren’t shared with Got To Give It Up, even though the two songs sound similar to many listeners.
However, a panel of judges mostly upheld the decision on appeal.
Taking credit: Thicke later claimed in court while being sued for plagiarism by the estate of Marvin Gaye that he didn’t write any of Blurred Lines despite being credited as a songwriter; seen in May in LA
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