 Thicke had seen Ratajkowski 's treats ! cover that The New York Times 's Bee Shapiro described as " an artfully composed black @-@ and @-@ white photograph of Ms. Ratajkowski sitting completely nude with her knees tucked to her chest " and convinced director Diane Martel to cast her in the " Blurred Lines " music video . Martel felt that " she looked smart and stunningly beautiful " in the photo . Ratajkowski initially declined the role , fearing being classified as a music video model , but Martel persuaded her . The video was released on March 20 , 2013 . On March 28 , Thicke posted an explicit version , with a topless Ratajkowski . 
