- Emily, 31, claims that Robin (46), ‘cupped its bare beasts’ during set
- Elle recalls Emily leaving the set ‘abruptly’, but says no one has addressed the matter
- The video’s unrated version was so indecent that it was removed from the Internet
Blurred Lines actress Emily Ratajkowski’s Blurred Lines starring Elle Evans recalled the moment Robin Thicke allegedly groped her on set. Elle Evans opened up about her appearances in the controversial music video.
Robin, now 46, released the raunchy music clip for his hit song in 2013. The video featured nearly naked models dancing alongside Pharrell Williams and T.I. Later, YouTube banned the video for being too explicit. It quickly went viral and was called’sexist’, ‘inappropriate’ and’sexist.’ But it caused even more controversy when Emily claimed that Robin had sexually assaulted her on set in 2021.
Now, Elle, who starred in the now-infamous visual alongside Emily and fellow model Jessi M’Bengue, has spoken out about the harrowing moment that Robin allegedly inappropriately touched her co-star.
The Texas-born model now 33 years old, said to Bustle the tone changed immediately after the incident. She also stated that no one had ever addressed the matter and that Emily was only able to realize it years later.
“What I recall is that Emily left abruptly towards the end of the shoot,” she said to the outlet.
The production team was in a bit of an uproar, with some people asking, “What are they gonna do?” How are we going to shoot the remainder of the video without her? I was told she had a flight to catch.
Emily, now 31 years old, claimed that Robin ‘cupped’ her naked beasts while she stated that it made her feel like she was “nothing but a hired mannequin.”
‘Suddenly, out of nowhere, I felt the coolness and foreignness of a stranger’s hands cupping my bare breasts from behind,’ she wrote. I instinctively turned my back to Robin Thicke and moved away.
‘With that one gesture, Robin Thicke had reminded everyone on set that we women weren’t actually in charge.
‘I didn’t have any real power as the naked girl dancing around in his music video. I was nothing other than the hired mannequin.
Elle says she was 23 when she was first starting in the industry.
She confessed that she was desperate to pay off student loans and took on any job that offered nudity.
“I used my looks to make money because that was the only option at the time.” She explained that those jobs paid the bills.
“I would tell my manager that I don’t want to be stuck in these roles naked.” She would respond, “What’s if Julia Roberts never played Pretty Woman?” [didn’t want to play] “A prostitute?”
Elle explained that the women were asked to seem ‘untouchable’ while filming the sultry video, and that she personally felt like she was in a ‘power position’ the entire time she was on set.
She even remembered Diane Martel, the director, telling them to tone down their sex appeal during the shoot.
She stated, “The direction we were given was that we were invincible.” “Every guy in town wants you. But they’d do anything to get you. Yet, you don’t want to give it up.
I can still remember Diane saying, “That’s too sexy.” Don’t be too sexual. You know this is not the place for you. This isn’t a lap dance.
“There are parts where I sit on the stool, and T.I. I’m brushing my hair. [Diane] You wanted me to be just a little bit chillier, just a little bit more of a shimmyshake.
“I felt like a power player, even amongst all the top recording artists. It was an amazing feeling.
Although the unrated version of this video, which showed the women cuddling with live animals and getting injections in the backsides, was removed from YouTube, a dialed down version remains online.
Grantland heard the director defend it at the time.
It also makes the men feel playful, and not like predators. I don’t think the video is sexist.’
Robin also addressed the backlash at the time, telling VH1: ‘We pretty much wanted to take all the taboos of what you’re not supposed to do – bestiality, you know, injecting a girl in her bum with a five-foot syringe – I just wanted to break every rule of things you’re not supposed to do and make people realize how silly some of these rules are.’
Elle – who went on to appear in Beyoncé’s Haunted and Superpower music videos, became the face of NYX cosmetics, and guest-starred in a few episodes of Two and a Half Men and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – said she has tried to distance herself from the video over the years.
‘I definitely didn’t wish to be known only as Blurred Lines’ girl. It was something that I did not want to talk about, she admitted.
‘But I think it shouldn’t be forgotten, because of the lessons that we learned from it.’
She’s now a mother and has given up the spotlight. She got married to Matt Bellamy in 2019, the lead singer and guitarist for Muse. In June 2020, she gave birth to a girl.
She stated, “When I moved out of my small hometown, I believed that being famous and rich equaled happiness and success.”
“I quickly realized that this industry was not for me after I moved to LA and got into it.
“My life has changed completely. I’m now a wife. I am now a mother, and that is my main focus.
