Back in 2013, Robin Thicke was at the top of his game, having released the track “Blurred Lines,” a song which was everywhere in the months following its March 2013 release. Part of this had to do with the memorable music video, which introduced a topless Emily Ratajkowski as one of the subjects of the song’s “Blurred Lines.” Part may have also had something to do with Miley Cyrus and a now-infamous foam finger at the VMAs that year. Years later, the model and former music video star has accused Robin Thicke of groping her during the making of the video.
Emily Ratajkowski will be going from model and actress to author in the coming weeks as she’s set to publish her new book My Body, which is where she laid her accusations bare. In the book she notes to The Sunday Times (via Page Six):
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. [The director, Diane Martel’s] voice cracked as she yelled out to me, ‘Are you OK?’
Ratajkowski goes on to say she had been enjoying herself and filming with the rest of the female team ahead of the moment. At the time, she says she “didn’t react” and just tried to move on. The director of the “Blurred Lines” music video Diane Martel also has backed up the story of what happened, noting,
I remember the moment that he grabbed her breasts. 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!!'
The incident was attributed to drinking on the set, and Martell also mentions Robin Thicke was “sheepish” afterward, also saying it may never have happened if the alcohol wasn't around. This isn’t the first time the singer has gotten into hot water over the song. A copyright lawsuit from Marvin Gaye's estate followed its release and complaints followed both the song itself and the music video in the months and years following, with criticism likening "Blurred Lines" to promoting misogynistic culture.
In 2019, Pharrell Williams, who appears in the video and helped produce the track, even condemned the song, saying he was “embarrassed” by some of his past work.
I realized that there are men who use that same language when taking advantage of a woman, and it doesn't matter that that's not my behavior. It just matters how it affects women. My mind opened up to what was actually being said in the song and how it could make someone feel.
The video would ultimately propel Emily Ratajkowski and Robin Thicke to stardom, though it was controversial even at the time of its release. It would remain Robin Thicke’s biggest hit, though he has gone on to a second career as a judge on Fox's The Masked Singer. “Blurred Lines” has more than 761 million views on YouTube as of October 2021.
