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Elle
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Elle
'I Have Zero Straight Men In My Life': Emily Ratajkowski Enters Her Free Era
Photographs by Morgan Maher, Styling by Natasha Wray Emily Ratajkowski might be your favourite woman's favourite woman. You just know a night out with her would be a blast. She can toggle from Joan Didion and political discourse to reality TV and TikTok memes, high fashion and handbags – you're going to have a good time. Indeed, women are at the centre of Ratajowski's universe right now. 'Not centring men is really wonderful,' she tells me. 'In general, in our world, men have somehow filed this space, but what I found instead of it is community.' The 34-year-old model, actor and author of the bestselling essay collection My Body – is sitting in front of a beautifully curated bookshelf in the New York apartment she shares with her four-year-old son Sly. On her T-shirt is an R Crumb illustration of a hairy, naked woman with large breasts doing a handstand. FIND OUT MORE ON ELLE COLLECTIVE 'I still like men,' she adds. 'I just have zero straight men in my life, unless they're a romantic interest. In the hierarchy of needs, that's at the top of the pyramid, which is nice. [Men are] pleasure and fun, but not a part of my core. The rest of my life is community with other women and queer people, and being a mom.' Having dinner and drinks with these women – one of them being the model and actor Adwoa Aboah – is among her favourite things to do. 'It's so fun to talk sh*t with my friends,' she says, laughing. The pair are going on holiday together this summer and, yes, 'it'll be brat' (Charli xcx is another good friend). Morgan Maher Emily Ratajkowski wears top, £1,100 and shorts, £1,980, both PRADA Aboah and Ratajkowski also appear in this summer's most- anticipated TV show, Lena Dunham's new Netflix series Too Much .Ratajkowski plays Wendy, the model/influencer rebound girlfriend of the lead's ex-boyfriend. It's the first series Dunham has writtenand directed since the iconic Girls ended in 2017, and stars Megan Stalter and Will Sharpe as made-for-each-other lovers navigating the various pressures of their thirties. The hilarious script, brilliant performances from a cast that includes Andrew Rannels, Richard E Grant and Naomi Watts and Dunham's zeitgeisty grip on the neuroses of a generation are sure to make it a huge summer hit. 'Lena leans in to some of the more 'feminine' ways of directing – over communication, consideration of everyone on set. Instead of being this domineering presence, her power lies in grace and in the ability to make everyone feel comfortable,' explains Ratajkowski, who has been friends with Dunham for more than a decade. They met when Ratajkowski first shot to fame after appearing in a Robin Thicke music video, which she later described as a pretty horrific experience: 'I didn't have any real power as the naked girl dancing around,' she wrote in the essay 'Blurred Lines', which was part of her book. 'I was nothing more than the hired mannequin.' Dunham, she tells me, was a welcoming and understanding ally, 'when no one really was, to be honest'. They went on to share drafts of their books and give each other notes. Now, 'it's a really beautiful friendship'. Dunham wrote the part especially for her friend, so Ratajkowski really couldn't turn it down, which is something she often does these days. 'I don't agree to a lot of offers,' she says. It's because she's busy writing and parenting. But also, she adds: 'I really value control. In my twenties, I didn't have a lot of it in my career. Now, I like making things and I like not being an addition to them. With Lena, I got to shape the character so much, which was really fun. It gave me a bigger role than just an actor for hire.' Morgan Maher Top, £1,380, and shorts, £1,010, both PRADA The show resonated for Ratajkowski as it explores the tension between the growing confidence and perennial sense of WTF that is so prevalent in one's thirties. 'I'm fascinated with this decade of my life,' she tells me. 'My mom had me at 39, and I remember she always romanticised her thirties as a time of self-exploration and power as a woman. I'm in the midst of it and really feel that way too.' We discuss how, in your twenties, you might think, 'Yeah, I want this', but have no concept of time, because you haven't lived enough. But now, being 34, she can remember what 24 was like. 'I know exactly what 10 years feels like, and what consequences are.' Now, she says, she understands how she can shape the next period. 'You can't control everything, but you can move towards something to give yourself the life you want, which really excites me, because when I think about 34 to 44, I'm like, 'Oh man, there's so much opportunity.' I can be so much more intentional than I was in my twenties and there won't be, like, accidents.' Morgan Maher Dress, £4,300, PRADA Ratajkowski might be a successful polymath today (starring in films such as Gone Girl , being the face of Marc Jacobs' new handbags and writing feminist polemics), but when she was younger she was 'ashamed of being a jack of all trades, and really wanted to be the person who was really excellent at one thing'. Her parents were intellectuals, and after they moved from London, where she was born, to California, she recalls her artist father having a studio that was as big as their house, and her mother, a writer and professor, creating an entire reading curriculum for her from the age of five. 'I don't think my parents ever pushed me in a certain direction. We're not religious people, so what we talked about was our stories, and politics. My dad would bring his paintings in when he was done, and we'd look at them and discuss them. And I was included in that.' Morgan Maher Hat, £1,100, PRADA. Earrings, Ratajkowski's own Talking to me about her own son, whom she had with her former husband, the producer Sebastian Bear-McClard, she says all she wants is for him to be good at critical thinking. 'I don't have any idea what he should do with his life. I think it's great when you're interested in making things and working with creative people. I want to give him that gift, but if he decides that there's something that's more fulfilling to him, that's wonderful.' It's incredible to think that Ratajkowski was only 10 years older than her son is now when she was scouted and signed to Ford Models. Her parents were supportive, eventually, enjoying the financial security and the glamour it offered, but they were no doubt thrilled their only daughter later pivoted into acting and, later, writing. She's at a good point with her writing, she says, a year and a half on from 'being in the misery of it'. After dropping Sly off at school, if she doesn't have a car picking her up to take her to a shoot, she'll return home to write and edit all day. Morgan Maher Cardigan, £1,610, and shorts, £690, both PRADA 'I used to be somebody who would write in bed and on my phone – basically anything to make it seem as if I wasn't feeling pressure. Now, I actually really enjoy the ritual of sitting down and being like, 'We're getting to work.'' Writing is, she tells me, what's getting her through this moment in American politics. 'I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about [writing], so it definitely provides a welcome distraction and focus. I hate when people, celebrities specifically, are like, 'I'm just really just focusing on my own life right now.' It's what we all do to survive [the sense that you have no control over nightmarish global politics] but, listen, the world could end tomorrow. It is important to really enjoy your life and take care of the people that you're close to.' She relates heavily to a recent piece in The New Yorker by Jia Tolentino titled 'My Brain Finally Broke'. (Ratajkowski admits she is 'chronically online', and if there's a viral long-form feature, you can bet she's read it.) In the article, Tolentino explains that 'much of what we see now is fake, and the reality we face is full of horrors. More and more of the world is slipping beyond my comprehension'. 'I'm so overwhelmed by the state of the world,' Ratajkowski says. 'It's really hard. I used to feel slightly ashamed by that. But I think there's something important in just being like, 'I'm not really totally sure what to do.'' Morgan Maher She says that 'every year I've become more and more left-wing, which is great because I think that in college there's this idea that you're going to become more conservative as you get older. But between Joe Biden and now Trump, I just feel more connected to [the left]. Basically, there's no confusion for me.' She describes the last four years of American politics as 'being asleep at the wheel'. 'With Biden,' she says, 'people were like, 'He's left-wing enough and he's not crazy. He looks like what a president should look like.' He said the right things, and I think that a lot of people backed off being politically engaged. Now, we're in a state of shock in the US, because just the first hundred days [of the Trump administration] have been this unbelievable news cycle.' She points to the demonisation of transgender people and says: 'I can't believe what's happening when it comes to trans people in this country. It's terrifying. I have friends who are parents of trans kids, and they're thinking about Canada, they're thinking about moving. I have friends who've travelled internationally and been questioned, and have had their IDs changed. I don't care about gender, other than as a personal expression. So it's really hard for me to understand this thinking and the desire to control people. But the personal is political.' Morgan Maher Jacket, £2,650, trousers, £1,150, and bag, £4,150, all PRADA So, for Ratajkowski, is fashion. She becomes visibly animated, perhaps more so than she has been throughout the entire call, leaning towards the camera, her eyes darting mischievously. 'It's a little bit of a walk to my son's school now, so I can't wear heeled shoes,' she tells me. 'But, when I was in the city, we lived two blocks from his preschool, and I would often just leave for work from there. At that point I was hosting my filmed podcast, so I would be in an outfit.' How did that go down with the other parents, I wonder. 'Oh, I was definitely dressed up compared to them. I think that's actually one of the ways I really enjoy being subversive with motherhood. There's so much around what a mom should look like.' Morgan Maher Shirt, £1,610, PRADA She believes that people who are really concerned with how they come off as a parent maybe aren't always necessarily focused enough on how they actually are. 'I know what kind of mom I am, and I only deeply care about my son's reaction to that. Anybody else who has opinions about me as a mother because of the way I dress – it's just so inconsequential.' I picture Ratajkowski dropping her son off at preschool this morning, wearing a fabulously explicit piece of art on her T-shirt, before tossing her beautiful hair over her shoulders, checking her phone, filming some hot takes and then heading home to write a feminist critique. 'I don't know, maybe it's getting older. Maybe it's motherhood, but it just is what it is,' she says, shrugging. And does she care about what other people think, I ask. 'No,' she answers. 'I don't think I do.' HAIR: Hos Hounkpatin at The Wall Group. MAKE-UP: Emi Kaneko at Bryant Artists. NAILS: Maki Sakamoto at The Wall Group. STYLIST'S ASSISTANTS: Gal Klein and Kenny Paul. ON-SET PRODUCTION: Gigi Guldas Morgan Maher This interview can be found in the July/August issue - available on newsstands now. ELLE Collective is a new community of fashion, beauty and culture lovers. For access to exclusive content, events, inspiring advice from our Editors and industry experts, as well the opportunity to meet designers, thought-leaders and stylists, become a member today HERE . The Audacity Of Emily Ratajkowski Lotte Jeffs Lotte Jeffs is the author of five books and their debut novel This Love, about the power of queer friendship, is out now.
See - Sada Elbalad
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- See - Sada Elbalad
Supreme Court Blocks Bid to Reopen "Thinking Out Loud" Copyright Lawsuit against Ed Sheeran
Yara Sameh On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a lawsuit against musician Ed Sheeran that alleged his hit single "Thinking Out Loud" copied Marvin Gaye's iconic song "Let's Get It On." The Supreme Court justices declined to hear an appeal filed by Structured Asset Sales, a company owned by investment banker David Pullman, that owns a partial stake in Gaye's 1973 song. Structured Asset Sales first sued Sheeran, his record label Warner Music, and music publisher Sony Music Publishing in 2023, seeking monetary damages over alleged similarities between the two songs. A U.S. District Judge sided with Sheeran in the original case, concluding that the song's melody, harmony, and rhythm were too common to require copyright protection. The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the decision last year. In a separate 2023 copyright lawsuit over the same issue filed by the heirs of Ed Townsend, Gaye's co-writer on the Motown classic, a jury in Manhattan federal court ruled in favor of Sheeran. Speaking outside the court at the time, Sheeran said: 'We spent the past eight years talking about two songs with dramatically different lyrics, melodies and four chords which are also different and used by songwriters every day all over the world.' He continued: 'These chords are common building blocks which were used to create music long before 'Let's Get It On' was written and will be used to make music long after we are all gone. They are in a songwriter's alphabet, our toolkit, and should be there for all of us to use. No one owns them or the way they are played, in the same way nobody owns the color blue.' The Let's Get It On case followed another high-profile lawsuit by Gaye's estate, in which Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams were ordered to pay more than $5 million in 2018 after a court found that Thicke's global smash "Blurred Lines" copied Gaye's 1977 hit Got to Give It Up. read more New Tourism Route To Launch in Old Cairo Ahmed El Sakka-Led Play 'Sayidati Al Jamila' to Be Staged in KSA on Dec. 6 Mandy Moore Joins Season 2 of "Dr. Death" Anthology Series Don't Miss These Movies at 44th Cairo Int'l Film Festival Today Amr Diab to Headline KSA's MDLBEAST Soundstorm 2022 Festival Arts & Culture Mai Omar Stuns in Latest Instagram Photos Arts & Culture "The Flash" to End with Season 9 Arts & Culture Ministry of Culture Organizes four day Children's Film Festival Arts & Culture Canadian PM wishes Muslims Eid-al-Adha News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt Business Fear & Greed Index Plummets to Lowest Level Ever Recorded amid Global Trade War Arts & Culture Zahi Hawass: Claims of Columns Beneath the Pyramid of Khafre Are Lies News Flights suspended at Port Sudan Airport after Drone Attacks Videos & Features Video: Trending Lifestyle TikToker Valeria Márquez Shot Dead during Live Stream News Shell Unveils Cost-Cutting, LNG Growth Plan Technology 50-Year Soviet Spacecraft 'Kosmos 482' Crashes into Indian Ocean News 3 Killed in Shooting Attack in Thailand
Metro
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Ed Sheeran's copyright lawsuit might actually be over after a decade
Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud lawsuit drama may finally be coming to an end after years of court cases since the bop was released 11 years ago. The soft rock hit Thinking Out Loud from Sheeran's second studio album X was released in 2014. If you think you haven't heard it, you're wrong. The song has a stronghold at every wedding to take place in Britain, Ireland, and the US, since its release and was on every mainstream radio station at least once a day for two years after its launch. The song was such a massive success that when music journalists compared it to Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On, copyright lawsuits came in guns blazing. In the latest update on June 16, the Supreme Court announced that it would not be taking on a copyright case, which accused Sheeran's song of infringing upon Gaye's copyright. The court did not detail why they decided not to take the case, but it could have something to do with the numerous outcomes in other lower courts that Sheeran has won. The first suit levelled at Sheeran was in 2016 when the daughter of Ed Townsend, the man who co-wrote the Gaye song in 1973. The case ended in 2017 with Sheeran being cleared and avoiding millions in possible copyright fees, avoiding the fate of Pharrell and Robin Thicke, who paid a hefty fine after their Blurred Lines track was deemed too similar to Gaye's Got To Give It Up. The second lawsuit came in 2018 from Structured Asset Sales (SAS), which is estimated to have an 11% ownership stake in Gaye's music. The case was heard in 2023 and resulted in Sheeran winning the case again. Speaking outside the court in 2023, Sheeran commented: 'We spent the past eight years talking about two songs with dramatically different lyrics, melodies and four chords which are also different and used by songwriters every day all over the world.' He added: 'These chords are common building blocks which were used to create music long before 'Let's Get It On' was written and will be used to make music long after we are all gone. 'They are in a songwriter's alphabet, our toolkit, and should be there for all of us to use. No one owns them or the way they are played, in the same way nobody owns the colour blue.' The 2023 victory was, of course, appealed, but led to this Supreme Court dismissal in June 2025. In a fun twist to the relentless story, a separate case SAS may now go to the federal court. In a statement to Billboard, SAS owner and industry executive David Pullman said that the separate case 'will now go forward'. 'Defendants' fear has always been the sound recording of 'Let's Get It On',' Pullman said. 'The U.S. Supreme Court was aware of this and understands that the case will go forward and may very well be back at the U.S. Supreme Court at a later date.' However, the idea of yet another case has been firmly rejected by Sheeran's lawyer. Sheeran's attorney, Donald Zakarin, has dismissed the suggestion that the case can be revived and emphasised that Sheeran and his co-writer Amy Wadge, created the song independently. 'Pullman's completely unauthorised and improper purported registration of the Marvin Gaye recording of 'Let's Get It On,' 50 years after it was created, will not change that fact,' Zakarin told Billboard. 'If he truly believed that the second case he filed was so compelling – which it is not – he would not have spent the last two years pursuing his failed first case.' Amy Wadge, who co-wrote the song, has spoken about her relief at the decade-long back-and-forth finally, seemingly, coming to an end. 'Ten long years it has been, so to get that ruling is an incredible relief,' she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'It has just rolled on, but yes, it's done.' The singer was open about how the financial loss of a negative outcome could have ruined her. 'The absolute truth is that song changed my life. I didn't have a hit until I was 37. Then I was able to feel like I'd had a hit for a year and then all of a sudden it felt like the walls were surrounding. 'It was incredibly frightening. Had we lost that case, I could have effectively lost everything. More Trending 'I just knew that had they been successful, it really would have caused a huge issue for creativity in general.' The music video of Thinking Out Loud was released a decade ago and as of February 2025, has garnered 3.8 billion streams on YouTube. The song was the first to ever spend an entire year in the UK Top 40 and is one of the most-streamed songs on Spotify. Despite its incredible success, it is actually Sheeran's second most successful song ever, behind the 2017 hit Shape of You. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Steps narrowly missed out on Glastonbury legends slot for devastating reason MORE: Liam Gallagher hits back after Oasis fans branded 'fat, drunk and rowdy' MORE: 'Secret Glastonbury performers' celebrate UK number 1 album weeks before festival
Metro
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Robin Thicke, 48, marries model fiancée, 30, after seven-year engagement
Robin Thicke and April Geary have tied the knot after a seven-year engagement. The 48-year-old singer first popped the question to the model, 30, in 2018, before getting down on one knee again just days before their nuptials. Blurred Lines hitmaker Thicke shares three children with Geary: Mia Love, five, Lola Alain, four, and Luca Patrick, two. Their ceremony was every inch as lavish as you'd expect, as the lovebirds said 'I do' in a romantic celebration in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Geary shared some videos on Instagram, showing herself in a long white lace gown with a veil for the occasion, while Thicke wore a classic tuxedo. A guest also posted a video showing Thicke walking down the aisle to Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, with youngest Luca sweetly serving as 'ring security'. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The newlyweds also made sure to include a tribute to Thicke's late father, who died in 2016 at the age of 69. A seat on the front row was left empty for Alan Thicke, as Geary's video showed the chair with 'In Loving Memory Of Alan Thicke' printed on the back of it. The game show host and comedian collapsed while playing ice hockey with his son, Carter, where he was wheeled out on a stretcher and pronounced dead later that day, the cause cited as type-A aortic dissection. Thicke was close with his father, writing on Instagram earlier this year for his birthday that he 'misses [him] every day'. His wedding to Geary comes shortly after he asked for her hand in marriage again while in Cannes. She posted on Instagram: 'Robin surprised me during our trip to Cannes by proposing to me again with a new ring that one of my best friends @nikkiwhatnikkiwho @establishedjewelry made. I'm so obsessed with it, thank you!!!' 'This trip was such a dream. I love you so much @robinthicke Also a huge thank you to @alilasky for clearing out the whole area and making sure there wasn't a single person getting in the way', her caption continued. The pair first began dating in 2014, several months after the pop star separated from his wife of 10 years, Paula Patton, with whom he shares son Julian Fuego, 14. At the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, they made their first public appearance together, two months after Thicke and Patton's marriage was officially dissolved. Speaking about his new relationship, Thicke revealed in 2021 that they were going to therapy, having found it useful to get an outsider's perspective on matters. He said during an interview with the Black Girls Texting podcast: 'Therapy is not for everybody all the time, but it definitely opens barriers for us, even just to go once or twice. 'If you're struggling in your relationship, one visit, one conversation with a third party can change things.' He added: 'Couples therapy has been great for me and April, and it's been great for me and Paula in co-parenting. More Trending 'We've had a few sessions and it's really helped for us, so I am a total believer in therapy.' Then, in 2024, Thicke spoke to People about their wedding plans, saying getting hitched was a 'priority'. 'My relationship with April continues to grow beautifully as we've matured into three-time parents together,' he added. 'She's really the most amazing woman a man could ask for.' Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Ricky Gervais risks backlash once more with dicey jokes in Hollywood Walk of Fame speech MORE: Trump reveals if he's willing to pardon ex-pal Diddy if convicted of sex trafficking MORE: Dolly Parton reveals 'mixed emotions' about new tribute musical
Daily Mirror
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Robin Thicke marries April Love Geary in lavish sun-soaked ceremony
Robin Thicke and his long-term fiancé April Love Geary have finally tied the knot seven years after the Blurred Lines singer popped the question for the first time Congratulations are in order for Robin Thicke and his long-term fiancé April Love Geary, who tied the knot yesterday. Robin, 48, and April, 30, got married in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico surrounded by their family and friends to celebrate their big day. April, who looked stunning in a white laced dress and veil reposted pictures and videos from guests to her Instagram story. Alongside a photo of the happy couple, one guest penned: "I love, love. Especially real, raw, resilient love." In the picture, Robin could be seen wearing a black suit with a white flower lapel. In one video, an empty chair on the front row could be seen with a sign that read: "In Loving Memory Of Alan Thicke." The seat was left empty for the singer's father, Alan who died in 2016. Another snippet from the big day adorably showed the couple's son Luca Patrick, four, walking down the aisle with his dad as ring bearer. Matching his dad in a black tux, two-year-old Luca held a brief case which read: "Ring Security". Robin and April are also parents to daughters Mia Love, seven, and Lola Alain, six. Robin originally proposed to April in December 2018, while the model was pregnant with their first child, Mia. In a picture posted on social media, an overjoyed April could be seen smiling in front of a Christmas tree. 'YES YES 1000x YES,' she wrote at the time. The proposal came four years after the pair met at a party in 2014. The couple made their debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015, two months after Thicke's divorce with his ex-wife Paula Patton was finalised. Fittingly, the Magic singer re-proposed to his then fiancé in Cannes just days before they tied the knot in Mexico. Announcing the news five days ago in a joint post with fiancé Robin, April shared a photo dump of the engaged couple dressing in all-white attire while standing on the step of the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cannes, France. "Robin surprised me during our trip to Cannes by proposing to me again with a new ring that one of my best friends @nikkiwhatnikkiwho @establishedjewelry made, I'm so obsessed with it, thank you!!!," she wrote in the caption. "This trip was such a dream. I love you so much @robinthicke Also a huge thank you to @alilasky for clearing out the whole area and making sure there wasn't a single person getting in the way."
