Emily Ratajkowski Talks the Complications of Being Sexy and Why She Supported Kim Kardashian's Nude Selfie

Actress and model opens up in ES Magazine

By Kendall Fisher May 19, 2016 1:30 PMTags
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After making a name for herself in Robin Thicke's controversial "Blurred Lines" video, Emily Ratajkowski skyrocketed to fame and became known as one of the sexiest women in the industry. However, she says that label has come with some big complications.

Covering the latest issue of ES magazine, the 24-year-old opens up about how her looks have caused her problems throughout her life and into her career.

Emily saw some negative attention stemming from her appearance when she went through puberty at age 11. "I started to realize that I was being perceived differently," she says. "Basically it was more about the way that people had a problem with a girl looking like a woman because it confused them, it made them feel uncomfortable and I think there was a lot of guilt that they wanted to induce."

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Those looks have now helped her become a successful model, but she still suffers from being attached to one realm in the acting world.

"It's an interesting paradox. If you're a sexy actress it's hard to get serious roles. You get offered the same thing they've seen you in," she explains. "People are like sheep and they're like 'Oh, that's what she does well'. What's so dumb is that women are 50 per cent of the population and they want to spend money to see movies where they're portrayed as three-dimensional characters."

And speaking of equality, she explains why she's a feminist and exactly what the word "feminism" means to her.

"Every woman, whether or not they're comfortable with the term feminist, probably wants to be equal to men and that is fundamentally what feminism is about," she says. "I think that there is a stigma attached to the word, but to me it means talking about the way we look at women and how we judge women differently than how we judge men; also it is about paid maternity leave, equal pay for women."

Being a feminist is precisely the reason she supported Kim Kardashian's nude selfie that several celebs slammed earlier this year. In fact, Emily still hasn't come to terms with Piers Morgan's comments.

"[He was] talking about the fact that Kim is 34 and a mother and that we're over seeing her in a sexual light, which I had a lot of problems with," she explains. "He also implied that her husband [Kanye West] was writing her tweets, as if she isn't capable of writing them herself, which to me is incredibly sexist."

After Emily stood up for Kim on Twitter, the reality star sent her flowers. "Then we decided to do a selfie with our tops off [sticking up her middle finger at] the camera, which I think speaks for itself," she explains. "I tweeted about what the idea was behind how women need to have space to be sexual."

Read her full interview in ES Magazine, on stands now.

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