Celebrity2 min(s) read
Published 13:28 16 Sep 2020 GMT
Emily Ratajkowski has accused the photographer Jonathan Leder of sexually assaulting her when she was 20-years-old.
The model, who is now 29, spoke about the alleged assault in an op-ed she wrote for NY Magazine's One Great Story.
In the piece, titled Buying Myself Back: When does a model own her own image?, Ratajkowski details that she was invited to Leder's home in the Catskills for a photoshoot in 2012. The photoshoot, which was reportedly unpaid, required her to stay overnight at Leder's home, and she was purportedly encouraged to pose naked by the photographer.
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The model-cum-actress said she had been drinking red wine, which had been offered to her by Leder throughout the evening.
She said she felt "wide awake but very, very drunk" by the time shooting had ended. Emily then accused Leeder of taking advantage of her, allegations that the photographer has since denied.
Ratajkowski recalls that she was sitting with Leder on a sofa at his home, when she began rubbing her feet together to keep them warm. Leder commented on this and told her that he "liked" it.
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"I remember this moment more clearly than anything else," she wrote. "I hate that Jonathan commented on something I’ve done throughout my life to comfort myself.
"Most of what came next was a blur except for the feeling. I don’t remember kissing, but I do remember his fingers suddenly being inside of me. Harder and harder and pushing and pushing like no one had touched me before or has touched me since. I could feel the shape of myself and my ridges, and it really, really hurt. I brought my hand instinctively to his wrist and pulled his fingers out of me with force. I didn’t say a word. He stood up abruptly and scurried silently into the darkness up the stairs."
The Gone Girl actress discovered that the nude photos Leder had taken - which she describes as some of the "most compromising and sexual photos of me ever taken" - ended up being published in a book by him under his publishing company, Imperial Publishing.
Her lawyer then sent cease and desist letters to both the publisher and an art gallery that planned on hosting an exhibition featuring the photos of her.
Ratajkowski later decided against pursuing a lawsuit, per advice from her agent.
A representative for Leder vehemently denied the claims, telling Page Six: "She knows she has no legal recourse to stop publication, so bad mouthing the photographer (again) with salacious accusations seems to be her newfound answer. ‘It is a shame, because the photos are really powerful and they are beloved by so many of her fans."
