Emily Ratajkowski says nudes photographer assaulted her in 2012

Actress and model Emily Ratajkowski has shocked the world, claiming she was sexually assaulted by a photographer during a famous nude photoshoot in 2012, though the photographer has since hit back at the claims he calls a ‘vindictive lie’.

The Gone Girl actress, made the shocking claims in a piece she penned for The Cut this week, revealing her memories of the photoshoot that sparked a legal war between herself and photographer Jonathan Leder.

Leder has strongly denied the claims, claiming that the model made the ‘abuse’ story up for publicity purposes.

Emily’s overnight nude photoshoot with Jonathan Leder

In 2012 aged 20, Emily says she was sent north of New York to the Catskills for an overnight photoshoot by her agent. Relatively unknown at the time, Emily would be paid for the shoot in the ‘exposure’ it would bring her.

The shoot was with photographer Jonathan Leder for a feature in niche magazine Darius. He went on to famously publish an entire book of the nudes he captured of Emily that night.

Emily says while there she was with Jonathan and a makeup artist. She was given wine, and avoided eating ahead of what turned out to be a lingerie shoot, and became a nude shoot. She says she quickly became intoxicated, and when they started shooting nude she could barely see.

“The second I dropped my clothes, a part of me disassociated,” she wrote. “I began to float outside of myself, watching as I climbed back onto the bed. I arched my back and pursed my lips, fixating on the idea of how I might look through his camera lens. Its flash was so bright and I’d had so much wine that giant black spots were expanding and floating in front of my eyes.”

She goes on to detail that after the shoot the makeup artist who had so far been present the whole time went to bed.

She says she felt ‘wide awake, albeit very, very drunk’ as she and the photographer huddled under a blanket and he began asking her about her romantic past, and commenting on her rubbing her feet together and against his against the cold.

“Most of what came next was a blur except for the feeling,” she wrote. “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 brought my hand instinctively to his wrist and pulled his fingers out of me with force,” she continues. “I didn’t say a word. He stood up abruptly and scurried silently into the darkness up the stairs.”

Jonathan has vehemently denied the accusations.

“We are all deeply disturbed to read Ms Ratajkowski’s latest (false) statements to NY mag in her never-ending search for press and publicity,” a representative for Imperial Publishing who represent the photographer told Page Six.

“Of course Mr Leder totally denies her outrageous allegations of being ‘assaulted’. It is grotesque and sad that she is so vindictive to lie in such a way to the press routinely.”

Emily wrote in her piece that the comment the photographer provided to her upon request referred to her history of nude modelling.

“You do know who we are talking about right?” the photographer reportedly told the article’s fact-checker. “This is the girl that was naked in Treats! magazine, and bounced around naked in the Robin Thicke video at that time. You really want someone to believe she was a victim?”

Photographs spark legal stoush

Following the photoshoot, the pair became embroiled in a legal stoush over the photographs taken that night.

Initially taken for the magazine, they ran as planned with no complaints from either side.

It wasn’t until years later that Jonathan released a book of the unpublished images entitled Emily Ratajkowski from that evening through Imperial publishing, photographs Emily and her legal team claim they had no right to use.

While the model and her former agent claim they never signed a release on the photos beyond the magazine publication, Johnathon and the book’s publishing house Leder and Imperial Publishing say a release was signed.

Emily initially sent cease and desist letters to the publishing house and an art gallery who hosted a show of the photographs, but did not pursue any legal action, saying in her article she simply ran out of funds for a legal battle she described as ‘fruitless’ given the photographs were already on the internet.

The publication house said the model never had any legal recourse available to her.

Leder has published multiple version of the book, and the images featured in sell-out New York art shows.

For sexual assault and family and domestic violence support you can call 1800respect on 1800 737 732.