For The Run-Through With Vogue’s first-ever live taping, hosts Chioma Nnadi and Chloe Malle welcomed a fellow seasoned podcaster: Emily Ratajkowski. The model and author stopped by Vogue’s Forces of Fashion to talk all things wellness, the modeling industry, and motherhood before a crowd of fashion insiders and fans.
While Ratajkowski may be used to stepping in front of the camera for work, she’s very publicly grappled with ownership of her image—or lack thereof. One of the most challenging aspects of that has been the relentless paparazzi, who, as she notes, “know where I live.” The My Body author half-jokes that she’s recently considered what her obituary photo would be, and was horrified by the idea that it could be a random paparazzi photo. (Though, when asked if she had an ideal obit photo in mind, she says that she would prefer people to read her writing.)
Now, as a mother, she is finding new difficulties in protecting her son’s image, and what that means for his understanding of the world. “I don’t like it,” she says. “I don’t, because they re not safe people. They will photograph us if we fall, they will not rush to help us, and I understand that. But I also don’t want him to be fearful.”
EmRata also discussed her breakout role in the controversial “Blurred Lines” music video. As a 21-year-old model, she, personally, caught much flack for appearing topless, despite the fact that she was not the creative force behind the video. On those who criticized her—and questioned her feminism—she says, “I was very defiant, because I was like: No, I get to do what I want and choice is powerful, and I can be in my body and feel good about it. And don’t tell me that I’m not a feminist.” But now, with the video (and her early twenties a decade in the rearview), Ratajkowski has some thoughts: “I think that when you re in your early twenties and you are using your sexuality, you can mistake the attention that you re getting as being power.”
Ratajkowski also divulged about her dating life. While she admits that she is on a dating app, she acknowledges that she may be taking “a permanent break” from the online dating-sphere. Though, when prompted to share who the last person she kissed was—aside from her son—she says “I don’t kiss and tell.”
So how does someone like EmRata unwind after all the exhaustion of podcasting, writing, and modeling? “My new thing is rest,” she says. “We think resting is being online. We think being in our bed and just frying out on our phones is resting.” But for her, being present, watching movies uninterrupted, and not working is more of a boost than any smoothie or serum. “One of the ways that this has helped me is having a two-and-a-half-year-old who’s growing so rapidly that I’m scared of missing moments from him, so I’ve learned to present in a different way.”
For more on Emily Ratajkowski’s approach to wellness, her desire to write about divorce, and her support for a modeling union, tune into the first live episode of The Run-Through With Vogue.
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