After Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine was accused of having a yearlong affair with Instagram model Sumner Stroh, the 23-year-old influencer received backlash from social media users who claimed she was sharing her story for clout.
In response, Emily Ratajkowski shared two TikTok videos on Tuesday (Sept. 20) to defend Stroh against critics. While she didn’t mention Stroh by name, she described the alleged relationship with Levine as a “skewed power dynamic” and “predatory and manipulative.”
“I don’t understand why we continue to blame women for men’s mistakes,” the model added. “Especially when you’re talking about 20-something-year-old women dealing with men in positions of power who are twice their age.”
Ratajkowski added, “If you’re the one in a relationship, you’re the one who’s obligated to be loyal. So the whole other woman, ‘They’re to blame,’ that’s bad and it’s literally designed to keep women apart.”
The My Body author, who split from Sebastian Bear-McClard earlier this year after rumors began swirling of his own cheating, concluded, “If you have receipts, share them. You’re doing other ladies a favor.”
“A lot is being said about me right now and I want to clear the air,” Levine, 43, wrote in an Instagram Story in which he dismissed claims he stepped out on his marriage. “I used poor judgement 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.
On Monday, Stroh claimed that she had an affair with Levine via a now-viral TikTok video. “At the time, I was young, I was naïve and quite frankly I feel exploited. I wasn’t in the scene like I am now, so I was definitely easily manipulated,” she said. She claimed they saw each other for a year and that in June, Levine asked he coulr name his unborn baby “Sumner” if it’s a boy, adding that Levine gave her the impression that his marriage to Prinsloo “was over.”
Levine is married to Victoria’s Secret model Behati Prinsloo — with whom he shares two young daughters and is expecting a third child.