In an article in the American magazine The Cut, supermodel and actress Emily Ratajkowski (29) describes how she was sexually assaulted in 2012 by photographer Jonathan Leder during a shoot at his home. “When we sat on the couch, he put his fingers in me”, it sounds, among other things. Leather denies the allegations.
Ratajkowski tells in the column how her agent arranged the photo shoot for a magazine in Leder’s house. The model, then 20 years old, posed in lingerie as well as completely naked. “I remember drinking an awful lot of red wine while taking the photos. So by the end of the night I was very drunk ”, she writes. “I got cold and snuggled up in the sofa under a blanket. Jonathan was sitting next to me, his raw jeans rubbing against my bare legs. He asked if I had a boyfriend and I told about dates he had. In the meantime, I rubbed my feet together and against his to warm it up. ‘I like what you are doing now’, he then said. ”
What followed next is blurry for Ratajkowski. “I don’t know if we kissed, but I do remember that he suddenly put his fingers in me,” she continues. “He did that harder and harder until it really started to hurt. I grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand away brusquely. I didn’t say a word. Then he stood up silently and hurried up the stairs. Then I went to sleep in the room where we started the shoot. I was completely confused and terrified that he would come back. The next morning I woke up with an immense hangover. I quickly put my clothes back on and noticed my hands were shaking. I left and never spoke to anyone about it again. ”
When the magazine contacts the photographer for comment, he denies all charges. “They are too tasteless and childish to respond to,” he says. “You know who we’re talking about, don’t you? The same woman who appears naked on the cover of magazines and paraded without clothes in ‘Blurred Lines’, the video clip of Robin Thicke. Should anyone then believe that she is a victim? ” Leder also indicates to the British newspaper Daily Mail that he is innocent. “Her story is a lie. I think it’s a shame she wants to get attention like this these days. A real shame! ”
It is not the first time that Ratajkowski and Leder have clashed with each other. When Leder announced in 2016 that he wanted to publish Emily’s photos in a book, the model protested. “I only gave permission for the shoot in a magazine, I don’t want the images to be used elsewhere,” she responded sharply. The model was also concerned that the sexy photos would hurt her career as an actress. “I don’t want them to turn me down because I’m too sexy,” he said. Ultimately, Ratajkowski dropped the charges and the book appeared anyway.
