Emily Ratajkowski Faced Backlash Over Drinking Remarks

The photographs, which also featured a “lover” in boxer shorts standing outside a window as she cradled the doll, quickly divided opinion online.

While supporters praised Ratajkowski for challenging perceptions of motherhood and female sexuality, critics argued the imagery crossed a line by combining alcohol, parenting themes and sexualized imagery.

The controversy erupted almost immediately after the images appeared online, generating thousands of comments and reigniting debate over Ratajkowski’s long-standing use of provocative imagery to promote her work.

A source close to the model told us: “Emily understands exactly how modern media works. She knows these images will generate outrage, but she also believes they start conversations about motherhood, sexuality and the way women are judged. The criticism was never going to stop her from publishing them.”

A fashion industry insider said: “A lot of the backlash centers on the wine glass and the motherhood imagery being used together. Some people see it as artistic expression, while others believe it sends the wrong message. That’s where much of the criticism is coming from. She is essentially being slammed for promoting and helping normalize the idea of a single mother drinking. Plus, mothers are advised not to drink while breastfeeding, which has added to the storm around these images.”

Ratajkowski reflected on her changing attitudes toward relationships and sexuality, arguing many of the assumptions she held earlier in life ultimately proved false.

She wrote about her behavior in the wake of her divorce: “I decided to f— my way into a new kind of woman. I wanted to destroy the Madonna, the special girl I’d worked so hard to be before an eight-pound baby had torn my vagina in two, and replace her with the whore.”

Ratajkowski also insisted “men are turned on by motherhood.”

She added: “I’d been so scared that, as a single mother, I was unlovable, used up and discarded. I soon came to find out it was quite the opposite of ‘they don’t care.’

“In fact, they liked it. There were many men who experienced the loneliness that comes with years of selfishness. They were particularly attracted to the idea that being a parent meant self-sacrifice was a given in my life. Did they want me as their mummy? Maybe.”

A source familiar with reaction to the essay said: “Emily is exposing aspects of her life that many public figures would never discuss. Some readers find that honesty refreshing, while others find it uncomfortable. The divide is exactly why her writing generates so much attention.”

Ratajkowski first rose to global fame after appearing in Robin Thicke’s controversial 2013 music video for Blurred Lines.

Since then, she has built a career spanning modeling, acting, writing and business, launching the swimwear label Inamorata and publishing the bestselling memoir My Body in 2021.

Throughout her career, she has repeatedly defended women’s right to control how they present their bodies and sexuality.

A longtime friend said: “Emily has spent years arguing that women should decide for themselves how they express their sexuality. She knows people will criticize her, but she has never been interested in making everyone comfortable.”

Ratajkowski has said about her habit of posing nude: “All I can say is that when a woman is naked, that’s not immediately anti-feminist.

“I have no apologies for it, and I’m not ashamed at all.”