WHAT started as a mini fallout between two stars has quickly become one of Hollywood’s most shocking and bitter secret feuds, sparking chaos and upset in A-list circles.
And now, we can reveal that things are so bad that the women at the centre of the drama – Emily Ratajkowski and Jennifer Lawrence – refuse to be in the same room as each other and will avoid each other at parties and awards shows. Here, insiders tell us how a naked picture kicked off the upset, plus the part Jennifer’s husband has played in it all.
The pair refuse to be in the same room together after a falloutCredit: Getty Images for BFI
Emily Ratajkowski is not on speaking terms with Jennifer LawrenceCredit: Variety via Getty Images
Jennifer’s husband, Cooke Maroney, is at the centre of the falloutCredit: Splash News
Our insider tells us: “It’s just awkward. Everyone in Hollywood knows that if Jennifer is on the guest list for a party, Emily can’t be there.
“And vice versa – their people will call ahead to find out which other stars will be there, and it’s just an unspoken rule that either Jennifer or Emily gets an invite – never both.”
The row kicked off in 2020 when Emily wrote about an art-world scandal in her memoir, My Body.
Obviously Jennifer is the bigger name – Emily and her won’t cross paths.
She alleged that artist Richard Prince had painted a piece based on a nude selfie she’d taken, then posted on Instagram, as part of one of his collections – but without her permission.
Furious Emily says she tried to buy the art off a “big-time gallerist” she knew through friends, but was shocked to find out that he’d actually bought the nude pic for himself.
“The giant image of me was hanging above the couch in his West Village apartment,” she wrote.
“‘It’s kind of awkward,’ a friend of mine said, describing the painting’s placement in the gallerist’s home. ‘He, like, sits under naked you.’”
The following year, it was revealed that the gallery owner was Cooke Maroney – who is now married to Jennifer Lawrence.
The insider adds: “It really all blew up when Emily wrote about it in her book, then the info going public the next year, adding fuel to the fire. It’s nothing dodgy – he’s an art collector, it’s a piece of art – but it was embarrassing for everyone involved.
“Obviously, Jennifer is the bigger name, so there will have been behind-the-scenes negotiations or meetings to make sure that if she’s at a Hollywood party, Emily and her won’t cross paths.
Emily’s stunning nude picture at the centre of the bitter falloutCredit: Instagram/emrata
“There was one time where Emily, Cooke and Jennifer were all eating in the same New York restaurant, and let’s just say nobody stayed for dessert.”
Jennifer met art-gallery owner Cooke in 2018 and got engaged in February the following year. Not waiting around, they married in October 2019, welcoming their first child in Feb 2022, and their second earlier this year.
After splitting with husband of four years Sebastian Bear-McClard in 2022, Emily has had romances with Pete Davidson, Eric Andre and was spotted snogging Harry Styles in the street in Japan in March 2023.
NAKED AMBITION
While the feud didn’t kick off until five years ago, there was an inkling of trouble between the pair long before then.
Back in 2013, Emily was announced as Esquire‘s Woman of the Year – beating Jennifer to the title.
At the time, Emily was best known for dancing topless in Robin Thicke’s controversial music video Blurred Lines – an episode which she later claimed had been humiliating – while Jennifer was already a very established and accomplished actress.
Emily and Harry getting very close in 2023Credit: alex cohen
Emily Ratajkowski walked the runway during the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in October last yearCredit: AP
Emily married Sebastian Bear-McClard in 2018 before their divorce was finalised last yearCredit: Splash News
Insiders revealed that Hollywood has been rocked by the feud with the two stars mixing in the same circlesCredit: Getty
She had won Best Actress at the Oscars for her role in Silver Linings Playbook in 2012.
A year later, in 2014, the women were once again tied together – this time when both of them had nude and intimate images leaked as part of a shocking celebrity scandal known as The Fappening.
Emily later described it as “one of the most traumatising experiences of my life.” She added: “I lost a patch of hair the week it happened.”
She continued: “I thought my career was over—it was at a point where I really wanted to be a serious actress, and everyone was telling me that I’d been photographed naked so much that it was gonna be hard for people to take me seriously.
“And there was a lot of conversation that these photos had been leaked intentionally, a lot of slut shaming. And they were extremely intimate photos; they were intended for someone that I was in love with. And it was horrible. I can’t tell you.”
LEAKED PHOTO UPSET
In the same episode of her podcast – High You – which was recorded in 2023, she appeared to take aim at J-Law’s husband again.
She said: “I’ve had books of photos of me sold without my consent, I’ve had people profit off of my image – usually men – and I’ve got no cut off it; actually, a lot of the times it’s cost me money.”
Jennifer felt a similar way about the image leak and said at the time: “I was just so afraid. I didn’t know how this would affect my career.”
She told Vanity Fair: “I was in a loving, healthy, great relationship for four years. It was a long distance, and either your boyfriend is going to look at porn, or he’s going to look at you.
“I can’t even describe to anybody what it feels like to have my naked body shoot across the world like a news flash against my will. It just makes me feel like a piece of meat that’s being passed around for a profit.”
But despite the shared trauma, Emily didn’t think twice about bringing up Jennifer’s husband, and the feud rumbles on.
Looking to the future, our insider adds: “It’s even more awkward because the two of them share mutual friends – Emily is close to Amy Schumer, who went to Jennifer and Cooke’s wedding. But Jennifer and Emily’s feud won’t end anytime soon, and they’re never going to be friends.”
Reps for Jennifer and Emily have been approached for comment.
Emily has become well known for sharing snaps of herself in racy looksCredit: Instagram/EmRata
Jennifer is said to make sure that Emily is never at the same events as herCredit: AFP
