‘I just don’t want you to do this to me anymore’
Emily Ratajkowski wants comedian Celeste Barber to stop making fun of her Instagram posts and issued a plea to the comedian to stop parodying her.
The 42-year-old Australian has gained a cult following off the stage for humorously recreating celebrities’ Instagram posts. But the target of the posts, haven’t always found them quite as amusing.
Ratajkowski spoke about Barber in an episode of her High Low podcast after having a bit of history with her.
The 33-year-old blocked the comedian in 2021 after she mocked one of the model’s swimwear campaigns, captioning it: “We are sick of you objectifying our bodies! Also, here’s my a**.”
Barber noted the conflict during an interview with Fitzy and Wippa on Australia’s Nova radio station, saying: “I don’t think Emily is a fan. That’s OK, she’s allowed to not love it. But she blocked me.”
The post had also faced criticism from Barber’s followers who claimed it was an example of “internalised misogyny” and blamed women for being objectified if they showed off their body.
Speaking about the drama on her podcast, Ratajkowski said: “This whole drama with Celeste has been blown out of proportion. In general, I find her to be really funny. But, [the] message I was trying to send to her was, ‘I just don’t want you to do this to me anymore.'”
She continued: “[I want] to be able to do my thing, whether that be writing about my terrifying experiences in an industry that doesn’t protect women and young girls and femme-presenting people while also having a bathing suit line.”
At the time of Barber’s post, Ratajkowski had written a post in The Cut titled ‘Buying Myself Back’ about other people using her image for their own gain without her consent.
She added: “I was like, I’m not giving her my consent for this joke anymore. It just landed at a specific time for me.”
Ratajkowski confirmed that she has no ill will toward Barber but finds her style of humour to be inherently misogynistic about women who put their bodies on display, explaining: “We really love to pick on female influencers, like they are considered the trash, lamest, most cringe, most embarrassing people on the planet.
“I fundamentally find that to be sexist. Yeah, no s**t women want to be influencers – it’s one of the ways that women have learned to be successful and make money. They’re hustling.”