Emily Ratajkowski has chimed in on the Adam Levine cheating scandal, and she’s reminding us where the responsibility lies. On Monday, Instagram model Sumner Stroh alleged that she took part in an affair with Levine (with screenshots at-the-ready) in a video shared on TikTok, and ever since, the internet has had a lot of things to say.
Levine has been married to Victoria’s Secret model Behati Prinsloo since 2014, and shares two children with her, Dusty Rose, 6, and Gio Grace, 4, with another on the way. In her TikTok, 23-year-old Stroh expressed, “Quite frankly, I feel exploited. I wasn’t in the scene like I am now, so I was definitely very easily manipulated.” She also alleged that said the singer wanted to name his new baby Sumner.
Without naming Stroh, Sara Foster reacted strongly to the situation on TikTok saying, “[She’s] claiming that it’s not her fault or something. We don’t feel sorry for you. You knew this man was married, okay? And you participated. You could have easily ignored the messages. You knew he was married. We do not feel sorry for you.” Many have pointed out that Foster’s anger was aimed specifically towards Stroh, and less to the married man in question. “This chick is giving women a very bad name,” she continued. “I think, that as women, we need to do better. Men are gross, we know that. They’re always going to be dogs.”
Coming out of her own cheating scandal with soon-to-be ex-husband Sebastian Bear-McClard, Ratajkowski had a few hot takes to share on the subject. The model, actress, and bestselling author addressed Foster’s clip and the general demonizing of Stroh. “I’m gonna try not to go the f*** off right now,” she began her TikTok message. “I just couldn’t disagree more.”
“I don’t understand why we continue to blame women for men’s mistakes — especially when you’re talking about 20-something-year-old women dealing with men in positions of power, who are twice their age,” the model said. (Stroh is 23 and Levine is 43 years old.) “The power dynamic is so skewed, it’s ridiculous,” Ratajkowski continued. “It’s predatory, it’s manipulative.”
“Also, if you’re the one in a relationship, you’re the one who’s obligated to be loyal,” she said. Ratajkowksi recently filed for divorce from her husband of three years and father to her 1-year-old son, Sylvester, after rumors of serial cheating began to surface. The Inamorata founder also noted that the trope of the “other woman” is “designed to keep women apart.”
Responding to Foster’s statement that men are “always going to be dogs,” Ratajkowski replied in a second video, “I think a huge problem in our culture right now is that we just say, ‘Oh, men are monsters. They’re terrible, they’re horrible.’ We don’t hold them accountable, and then we blame other women. We ask women to adjust their behavior instead of just saying, ‘Men need to change their behavior.’ It’s sexism. It’s classic misogyny. Period.”
On Tuesday morning, Levine denied the affair allegations but did say he “crossed a line” in an Instagram Story writing, “A lot is being said about me right now and I want to clear the air. I used poor judgment in speaking with anyone other than my wife in ANY kind of flirtatious manner. I did not have an affair, nevertheless, I crossed the line during a regrettable period in my life. In certain instances it became inappropriate; I have addressed that and taken proactive steps to remedy this with my family.”
He continued, “My wife and my family is all I care about in this world. To be this naive and stupid enough to risk the only thing that truly matters to me was the greatest mistake I could ever make. I will never make it again. I take full responsibility. We will get through it. And we will get through it together.”
Since Stroh’s original allegations, more women have come out claiming they’ve also received inappropriate messages from the “She Will Be Loved” singer.
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